“I AM NOT WHAT HAPPENED TO ME, I AM WHAT I CHOOSE TO BECOME ”
CARL JUNG
ABOUT ME
Hi, I'm Tammy. Born in Israel, I grew up in Texas and have worked and traveled to many countries around the globe. I love music, tennis, food, travel, cultures and people.
From a young age, I have been fascinated by our human condition and direct and indirect causes for human suffering. I am curious, like many others, as to why some people develop resilience to severe hardships while others fall prey to negative thinking, addiction, dis-ease, mental and physical disfunction, toxic relationships - the famous nature vs nurture question. As we now know, it's a combination of both.
I welcome people from all walks of life to openly discuss delicate matters of life (& death) in an open, safe and non-judgmental environment at my home clinic in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel.
EXPERIENCE
I am a Clinical Social Worker and Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner and have 15 years of clinical experience with individuals, groups and communities in Israel, Texas, Tanzania and Ukraine-Poland. I work primarily out of my home clinic in Jaffa with adults suffering from physical, sexual and mental traumas. I recently returned from the Ukrainian/Polish borders working directly with Ukrainian Refugees. Since October 7th, 2023 I've been working with individuals and families impacted by the trauma of war including active duty soldiers, lone soldiers and reservists.
I have worked with women and men survivors of sexual violence in Israel and abroad in Sexual Assault Crisis Centers. I've facilitated psycho-educational, therapeutic support groups as well as women's circles on diverse topics. I managed the Women's Courtyard, a center for young women at risk in Jaffa, Israel. I worked extensively with the elderly population and Holocaust survivors as the Director of Senior Programs Department at the Jewish Community Center in Austin, TX. In Israel I've conducted hundreds of home visits in Ramle and Bat Yam to bring social and economic relief to the elderly population. In Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, I worked at WAMATA with individuals, families and communities impacted from HIV/AIDS.
Today, I volunteer with Tel Aviv non-profit "Turning the Tables", who help women break from the circle of prostitution and trafficking and I am a board member of The Women Project - a Women's Center and Fitness Studio for trauma impacted women.
The Meaning of Life is To Give Life Meaning
MY APPROACH
Over the years, I've seen a few main factors greatly contribute to the level of success in short or long term psychotherapy: 1) I see the person as responsible for creating meaning in his or her life in order to contribute to the process of healing old or recent wounds. 2) I see the body as the healer. 3) Trusting the process of healing and recovery. We need to slow down in order to speed up.
My counseling approach is solution-focused and directed towards mobilizing client strengths and resources. I work primarily from a psychodynamic and existential psychotherapeutic approach as well as integrating (as needed) Somatic Experiencing® (SE™), EmotionAid®, IFS (Internal Family Systems), CBT (Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy), Mindfulness, Music Therapy and Expressive Arts.
I value and prioritize each person's privacy and sessions are conducted in a calm, safe and confidential setting at the clinic or online.
SPECIALTIES
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Adults
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Depression
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Anxiety & Stress
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Sexual Trauma
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Chronic Illness
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Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD/CPTSD)
- Unique challenges for musicians and artists
THERAPY SESSIONS IN HEBREW & ENGLISH
THE BODY, NEUROSCIENCE & TRAUMA
The Soma --- from Greek σῶμα (sôma) 'body'
One of the most profound shifts in my way of thinking about the human capacity to heal occured when I took a Neurobiology of attachment course and Somatic Experiencing® training during and after my graduate studies. I began to understand that trauma resides in our bodies, and we must learn to pay attention, release and shift these stuck neuro-biological and psycho-physiological patterns. I also learned that the brain is plastic, meaning we can renegotiate our past memories, create new neural networks and learn how to let our past finally rest in peace.
This new understanding caused tremendous change in the way I worked with survivors of sexual violence as a young social worker in Tel Aviv, Israel and Austin, TX. I saw amazing results in these amazing women, shifting from "talking" about the traumatic event to working with their nervous systems to find not only what is stuck and frozen and terrified inside there bodies, but where there are sensations and feelings of safety and movement in the body. Working with the inner resources of the body helps to re-integrate stuck cognitive-emotional patterns into a more coherent, integrative and balanced nervous system. From this place, the survivor can began to visit the past with more coherence, less fear; more grounding less disconnect; more understanding, less self-blame; more healing, less post traumatic stress.
I continue to learn about trauma every day from professional development, books, workshops, trainings , close colleagues and the hundreds of supervision hours I undergo. And still, I am always amazed at how much I learn from my brave clients who share their deepest secrets and unbearable pains as well as their breathtaking triumphs, big and small. I am deeply moved by their capacity to put their faith and trust in themselves and others, heal and find meaning in their lives despite inevitable and sometimes unimaginable realities, past and present.
“The body has been designed to renew itself through continuous self-correction. These same principles also apply to the healing of psyche, spirit, and soul.”
― Peter A. Levine, Waking the Tiger: Healing Trauma
EDUCATION & CERTIFICATIONS
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Master of Science in Social Work, MSSW, Clinical Concentration, The University of Texas at Austin, magna cum laude (2006-2007)
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Bachelor of Social Work, BSW, Clinical Track, Tel Aviv University, magna cum laude (2001-2004)
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Certified Somatic Experiencing® Practitioner (SEP), Somatic Experiencing International (SEI) / International Trauma Institute (ITI) for Advanced Training, Tel Aviv, Israel (2021-2022)
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Certified Music Instructor, Center for Classical Middle Eastern Music, Jerusalem (2014-2017)
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Somatic Experiencing® Training, Trauma Healing (Beg-Int Level), Austin, TX (2008-2010)
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Sexual Assault Advocacy & Crisis Intervention Training, Tel Aviv Sexual Assault Crisis Center, Israel (2004)
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Social Work Licensure (Israel) : 31222
AFFILIATIONS
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Somatic Experiencing Institute (SEI)
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Somatic Experiencing Israel - (ITI) The International Trauma Healing Institute
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Board Member, The Women Project
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Get Help Israel - Mental Health Professionals
CONTACT ME
PHONE
+972 523 555 5723
CLINIC OR ONLINE THERAPY
Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel