This summer, Kav L’Noar bade a fond farewell to our clinical supervisor for the last 12 years, Rina Berkus. We wish Rina a very happy retirement. We are delighted to welcome Hadas Schroeder Rahamim as Kav L’Noar’s new clinical supervisor and wish her every success.
Hadas grew up in Jerusalem as one of five children born to American immigrant parents. She became a psychologist at the same time as becoming a mother. For Hadas, her identities as a mother and as a psychologist are completely intertwined. Her professional background is in both clinical and educational psychology, and her first job as a psychologist was in the school system, treating disadvantaged children who had been exposed to trauma. Working in the real-life setting of the school rather than in a more detached clinic also necessitated working with teachers, parents, religious leaders and the wider community. Hadas went on to focus on treating teenagers, and she reflects on how
“I enjoyed their energy, the tough questions, their stark perspectives on the world, and coping with the challenges of growing up in Israel. Beyond whatever challenges they have on a personal level, Israeli teens are also growing up in a conflict region, and they are exposed to existential questions from a very early age. I’ve noticed that questions about values have always been central to the lives of teenagers in Israel.”
Hadas has treated clients of all ages in her private practice, and before coming to Kav L’Noar she worked in an organization helping children with special educational needs, heading a team of 15 psychologists and therapists.
As the clinical supervisor, Hadas hopes to build on Kav L’Noar’s proud tradition of cultivating a warm family atmosphere together with cutting edge, evidence-based interventions and the highest level of measurement and evaluation. Above all, she recognizes that the pandemic has created a huge demand for therapy for teenagers and is relieved to be in a position to help.
“Covid has left our youth completely stranded. Barely any support system, schools working at a very minimal rate if at all, some teens at home for over a year and seeing the adults in their lives with a complete loss of direction. In adolescence, the psychological energy is focused out, on taking the first steps out of the parental home and into the world. To have that turned around, and have to focus all that energy back onto the family is psychologically extraordinarily difficult for teenagers and has caused a rise in anxiety disorders, depression, addictions, and self-harm. I was fielding calls every day in my private practice but everything was full; there’s such a need for psychological assistance and not enough services available. Making a clinic like Kav L’Noar more accessible to more people at a time like this is the compassionate thing to do, and it's absolutely necessary.”
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