Lena has been practicing psychotherapy for more than 20 years. She knows that walking into a therapist’s office can be a vulnerable step, and she respects the courage it takes to begin. From the first session, Lena works to create a space where clients can feel safe, understood, and free to be themselves.

At the heart of Lena’s work is the therapeutic relationship. She brings curiosity, empathy, warmth, and a genuine interest in the person sitting across from her. She believes that when people feel truly seen and understood, they can begin to explore what is happening in their lives with greater honesty and openness. From there, meaningful change can happen.

Lena works with individuals and couples navigating trauma, grief, emotional eating, relationship challenges, and difficult life experiences. The work is never one-size-fits-all. Lena draws from a wide range of therapeutic approaches and tailors the process to the needs, strengths, and goals of each client. Sessions may involve healing from the past, understanding painful patterns, finding a new perspective, or discovering ways to feel calmer and more grounded in the present.

Lena is a Certified Gottman Couples Therapist and brings particular experience to couples seeking healthier and more satisfying emotional and physical relationships. She also works with emotional eating, helping clients understand the emotional needs that can become connected to food and develop healthier ways of responding to themselves.

Trauma and grief are also important parts of Lena’s practice. She provides a safe environment in which clients can process painful experiences, make sense of what has happened, and begin to move toward healing. Clients often tell her that they leave sessions feeling lighter and calmer, and that they feel understood quickly. Lena believes that remembering the details of a client’s life matters; it is part of creating a strong and meaningful therapeutic relationship.

In 2009, Lena founded The Place, The Jerusalem Centre for Emotional Wellbeing, and today serves as its  Coordinator. Together with her team, she has built The Place into a professional community offering psychotherapy, supervision, training, support groups, workshops, and community initiatives.

Lena also spearheaded Heartlinks, The Place’s support program for parents and grandparents who are estranged from their adult children and grandchildren. She facilitates the Heartlinks support group, creating a space where people can share their experiences, feel less alone, and receive support while navigating the challenges of family estrangement.

Through Mending Bridges, an initiative of Heartlinks, Lena works with a team offering psychotherapy and mediation to family members who are willing to work toward healing and reconnection.

Community involvement has always been important to Lena. She also facilitates a long-running support group for women whose husbands are emotionally challenged and volunteers with the Family Connections program of the National Education Alliance for Borderline Personality Disorder.

Creativity is another important part of Lena’s life and work. She is involved with Act Out Change, a Playback Theatre troupe for women that is loosely affiliated with The Place, where she participates as both an actor and producer. Playback Theatre brings personal stories to life through improvisation and different perspectives, offering a unique emotional experience for its audience.

Lena holds a Bachelor’s degree in Applied Human Nutrition with a minor in Child Studies from the University of Guelph and a Bachelor of Education from the University of Toronto. She completed her Master’s degree in Clinical Sociology at the University of North Texas and intensive clinical training at the Family Institute in Jerusalem. Her background in nutrition, education, and psychotherapy gives her a broad perspective on physical, emotional, and relational wellbeing.

Lena is committed to continuing to learn and grow as a therapist. Her professional training includes Internal Family Systems (IFS Levels 1–3), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), EMDR (Levels 1–2 for adults and Levels 1–2 for children), Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (Levels 1–2), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT Levels 1–2), Narrative Therapy, and Schema Therapy.

Lena works in both English and Hebrew.

At the heart of everything Lena does is a belief that people can heal, relationships can change, and even when life feels overwhelming, there is a way forward.