Work

Since 2023: Social Worker, Matan Hotline for Immigrants (Germany)

Mentoring volunteers in the hotline while they answer calls, leading support groups in the community, training new volunteers to support people in mental health crises, and writing articles regarding immigrants’ mental health.

Since 2020: Counselor, Self-Employed (Israel and Germany)

Feminist counseling and embodied coaching for people who feel stressed, overwhelmed, burned out, and exhausted. Combining methods from the fields of women’s psychology, gender studies, embodiment, and resilience building.

2017 – 2020: Co-Founder and Director, SafeMoves (Israel)

Empowering women by building embodied skill-sets to regulate the nervous system, assert personal boundaries, self-care, and manage risky interactions. Working with women, youth, and families, as well as with women who have mental health conditions, PTSD, and Asperger

2016 – 2020: Founder and Director, CAPE (International)

Culture-sensitive design of programs for the prevention and reduction of gender-based violence. Interventions were designed and applied in Germany, the Dominican Republic, Greece, and Ukraine.

2018 – 2019: Lecturer, Key College (Israel)

Developing and teaching the MA course “Culture, Identity, and Body in Marginalized Social Groups.”

2010 – 2017: Trainer and Team Leader, El-Halev (Israel)

Empowerment self-defense instructor for women, teenage girls, and women who have PTSD: teacher, program designer, and trainer of trainers

2009 – 2012: Research Assistant, Tel Aviv University (Israel)

Cultural research unit, member of the Laboratory for Psycho-culture and of the Laboratory for Identity and Environmental Action

2008– 2009: Communications Director, Tevel (Israel and Nepal)

Developing community empowerment programs in Nepal

2004 – 2007: Community Organizer and Team Leader, Mahapach-Taghir (Israel)    

Developing community empowerment programs, training and mentoring volunteers

Education

2012 – 2015: Haifa University (Israel)

M.A. in Clinical Social Work, therapist for women, specifically for those with post-traumatic stress disorder. Practicums: Tel – Aviv rape crisis center and the counseling center for women in Jerusalem.

2008 – 2012: Tel Aviv University (Israel)

M.A. in Cultural Research, Research-based. Thesis on Culturally Adapted Empowerment Programs for Women

Certifications and Further Education

Since 2020: Specialization Courses – Embodiment Tools in Therapy (Embodiment Unlimited)

Different courses focused on using the body in processes of resilience building, self-care, responding to crises, and living with PTSD. The total number of hours was 184 academic hours.

2023: Certified – Embodied Facilitator (Embodiment Unlimited)

Certified embodied facilitator. Certificate issued by Embodiment Unlimited.

2022: Training – Neuroscience of Change (Coaches Rising)

A training for coaches and therapists, introducing intervention tools rooted in the fields of neuroscience and neuropsychology. 34 academic hours.

2012 – 2013 – Certified: Empowerment Self-Defense Instructor (El Halev, Israel)

Certified Martial Arts and Empowerment Self-Defense Instructor. Certificate issued by the Israeli Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology

2012 – 2013 – Certified: Crisis Intervention (Tel Aviv Rape Crisis Center)

Certified in crisis intervention. Certificate issued by the Israeli rape crisis center.    

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In January 2010, I took a leap and joined an empowerment self-defense class for women. What greeted me? A massive, armored man – our simulated attacker. His job? To throw us into scenarios mirroring the gender-based violence many of us face in our daily lives. Our mission? We must learn new ways of using our bodies, voices, and presence to intervene and protect ourselves.

But the real eye-opener wasn’t just about learning self-defense moves. It was about confronting the everyday situations where our boundaries are crossed – often by people we know: interactions with a date, a colleague, a doctor, an acquaintance, etc. In those simulations, all my automatic responses revealed how accommodating, nice, and pleasing I’d always been and was encouraged to be from childhood. It made me realize how hard it was to assert my own needs or set boundaries when faced with discomfort or disrespect.

In that room, my body was asked to do things it had never done before: stand differently, make eye contact, set boundaries, and speak up for myself. My chest, hands, eyes, posture, and voice all did something new. And a change happened to me, moving from the body into my inner world, relationships, and behavior. It was a turning point.

For my group members and me, that class changed the definitions of what we can and cannot do and what is in our realm of possibilities. We walked, talked, and lived a little differently six weeks later. Six months later, our lives shifted. Some of us dared to leave toxic relationships and workplaces. Others said “yes” to new ideas and opportunities. We dared to open our dream businesses, apply for leadership roles, and travel alone.

At that time, I had been working in the field of women empowerment for eight years, mostly using words and stories and spending most of my time sitting down. But what I saw in that course blew my mind. Nothing I had seen before worked as fast and went as deep as that body-based approach.

So, after that course, my life took a different path…..

• I pursued my master’s research in cultural studies, exploring the interconnections between gender, body, and women’s psychology. I focused on topics like boundaries, assertiveness, self-care, and self-efficacy. Later on, my research became part of a university course I taught.

• I then pursued another master’s degree in social work, specializing in trauma and resilience. I was able to do a practicum in women’s clinics, practicing feminist psychology methods. I was fortunate to have teachers who encouraged me to learn and implement body-based tools in my work. This eventually led me to develop body-based programs focused on physical and emotional safety for women with PTSD and other mental health challenges.

• I started martial arts training, became an empowerment self-defense instructor, developed programs, and trained trainers. I opened my own businesses and had the opportunity to work around the world.

Over time, my focus shifted from teaching self-defense workshops to working with trauma survivors and all kinds of women on themes of personal boundaries, self-care, and taking up space in interpersonal relationships. I went deep into the well-being of changemakers, feminists, and volunteers, as so many were burning out around me. Later, I immigrated and started treating immigrants, learning about their unique challenges, and going through my own immigration journey.

What remained consistent was my dedication to understanding how gender norms, culture, psychological mechanisms, and embodied patterns influenced my clients’ lives. Another constant was my belief in change-oriented work that blends body-based techniques with more traditional methods.

Along this journey, I continued my education, diving deeper into the worlds of neuropsychology, embodiment, and habit change. I realized that the most efficient way to create lasting change is not through an amazing weekend retreat, exciting workshops, or an inspiring therapy session (although those are valuable). Change comes from practice. Conversations, insights, therapeutic relationships, and understanding past patterns were important and often necessary, but they weren’t enough for many people. Practice was essential.

We become what we constantly practice, and that’s where true transformation lies.

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