ABOUT

I believe that we experience the world with all of our senses and all of our kishkas, and we are constantly adjusting to make sense of life's challenges. So my approach engages all of this. It is experiential; strengths-based; art, nature and animal-assisted; and it is relational. It is a therapy that just might be enjoyable, as it is healing and nurturing. And it is for all ages. In education, I am a Recreational Therapist (MEd) and a Clinical Social Worker (MSW) with a post-graduate degree in Expressive Arts (CAGS) and an Israeli Teaching Certificate. This means that I have been uniquely designed to meet you at the intersection of experience, expression, education, and emotion. It means that I see the value that Adventure/Activity-Based Counseling brings in stirring the senses. It means I can adapt any activity to include everyone. It means that I use the breadth of the Social Work Perspective to see people in relation to the worlds they live and learn in each day. It is the dedicated perspective of focusing on strengths so we may know and strengthen them. It means I use the depth of Clinical Social Work to reach the depths of our traumas. It means I will do my best to meet you where you are at. Then, sometimes we need animals, sometimes we need art, sometimes we need a bowl of sand to accompany us to a more integrated place. Sometimes we just need a trampoline and some quiet to rebalance the system. Each of us has gifts and talents and interests and strengths that make us who we are. I believe in a therapy that allows us to explore, identify and use these treasures, so we can perhaps use them more effectively to meet the challenges of life, school and family. It can be as simple or as adventurous as you want. After 20 years of working with youth at risk in the States I learned to be very adaptive. Then I moved to Israel to practice a different kind of risk and resilience in the Israeli school system. I have spent many years in the intersection of trauma and learning. It has led me now into a fascinating exploration of the effects of bad and traumatic experiences on the daunting task of learning English as a Foreign Language as a necessary requirement for reaching a college education. Life is an adventure. So is therapy. There is a path for everyone. Give it a try. Susan Belitsky, MEd, MSW, CAGS