As a young adult, I chose art, music and literature as my escapes from the world. And for that I’m grateful, as they taught me empathy and the power of self-expression. After a long romance with Art & Art History as an academic passion and course of study complete with two degrees, however, I found myself feeling unfulfilled and searching for a way to connect and give with greater purpose. Upon accepting a long-term volunteering position in Arts-in-Medicine at a pediatric cancer unit (Tulane University Medical Center) as part of an outreach program at my graduate university, I decided to pivot my entire professional path towards new passions in psychology and therapeutic practice that the experience ignited in me.

 

I went on to receive a M.A. in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, with a specialization in Art Therapy and Expressive Arts Therapies at

Lesley University in Cambridge, MA. Through this program, I learned and practiced both traditional and creativity-based therapeutic approaches. My published thesis specifically discusses preventative and reactive therapeutic tools for navigating multiculturality experienced by many Olim here in Israel (titled "Place-Based Intercultural Liminality and the Potential of Art Therapy in Cultural Identity Negotiations").

 

My professional experience includes (but is not limited) to services as:

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• an after-school children's group therapy facilitator for evidence-based, preventative-intervention therapeutic programs designed for children coping with divorce and separation (COKids24/7 - High 5 Groups)

• an art therapist at an international non-profit organization which brings children with heart disease from third-world countries without sufficient medical facilities to Israel for medical care and life-saving surgeries (Save a Child's Heart)

• a therapist for adults and children working through war-zone related trauma and anxiety in the south of Israel and Gaza border, namely Ashkelon and Sderot (AMCHA; Center for Trauma and Resilience)

 

Today, my practice has a less particular focus, and rather lends itself to the average English-speaking Tel Avivian trying to make sense of the world - at whatever age.

 

Fun fact: I am also a passionate educator. In America, while still working towards my degree, I taught visual arts and social emotional learning at the elementary level. Here in Israel, I serve as a part-time educator for literature, writing, psychology, and world history to

American students at the esteemed JNF Alexander Muss High School in Israel.