-Worried you will never be able to fully trust another person?
-Don’t know if you are capable of love, or of being loved by another?
-Have trouble relaxing and feeling safe inside your own skin?
Reconnect with your hopes for trusting relationships with others:
Rape, incest, sexual abuse all happen in the context of relationships. It is therefore crucial that the process of healing from them also occurs in the context of a meaningful therapeutic relationship. However, truly trusting another human being after your sexual boundaries have been crossed, is extremely challenging for most survivors.
Rebuild trust:
It is for this reason that our work will focus, first and foremost on safety, both emotional and physical. Safety and trust cannot be a given, but rather built in the context of a real relationship over some period of time. We will find out together what makes you feel safe and unsafe, what you can do to increase your sense of safety in interpersonal situations, and use our relationship as a place to “try out” and learn more about your boundaries, needs and wants.
Regain Safety:
Many survivors, especially of childhood sexual abuse, also struggle with issues around physical safety and managing intense painful emotions. We will work together to help you feel safer in your skin and in the world, and to realistically plan for those times when you are re-living the trauma all over again, so you know how to take care of yourself during those times.
Reclaim your whole self:
Ultimately, we will strive together to reconnect the parts of you that got disconnected or lost when the sexual trauma occurred. This means that over time, we will work towards re-empowering you, helping you feel like a whole person again, confident, thriving and able to connect intimately with others.
There are few journeys closer to my heart than the one of survivors of rape, sexual abuse and incest. My own journey towards becoming a psychotherapist began in 1998, when I had the privilege of assisting women and girls who survived all kinds of sexual trauma, as a volunteer at the Jerusalem Rape Crisis Center (JRCC). It was at this incredible grassroots organization that I learned the true healing power of one person listening to another and holding her truth. I learned how profound, difficult and beautiful this healing journey can be, and have felt honored ever since to accompany people of all genders along this path. I have also facilitated workshops in several community organizations around responding to disclosures of sexual abuse and rape in competent and culturally sensitive ways.
I am Israeli-American and my services are available in English and in Hebrew. I also help children heal from sexual abuse and other trauma.
