Shalva Waldman M.Sc.

As I sit down to write a few days after Pesach there is so much uncertainty. My daughter’s gan decided that they would open. Then hours later they decided not to. The ceasefire is officially still in place, and the negotiations failed. The airport is open and the airlines aren’t sure if they are flying. Limbo. You know that moment right after pesach? Some of the people are plotzing to get their hands and mouths on some chometz, you just want to get the pesach keilim safely pu

אנחנו מתקרבים לפסח, והשנה זה מרגיש אחרת. יש מלחמה מעל הראש שלנו. יש כל כך הרבה דברים שאנחנו לא מבינים. איך בכלל נכנסנו למלחמה הזו, ואיך נצא ממנה. אנחנו לא יודעים מה יהיה בעוד שבוע, בעוד חודש. אנחנו לא יודעים אם נשב סביב שולחנות הסדר היפים שלנו, או נשב בממ״ד עם ההגדה על הברכיים, מנסים לא לשפוך כוסות מיץ ענבים על ערימת האנשים, תוך כדי שאנחנו מקשיבים אם יש בומים בחוץ. נשענים כמו בני חורין, ובאותו זמן גם דרוכים. ערב פסח, ואנחנו כבר אוכלים מרור כבר שבועות, ועוד לא טעמנו מצה. אנשי

We are coming close to Pesach, and this year it feels different. There is a war over our heads. There is so much we do not understand. What really got us into this war, and how we will get out. We do not know what will be in a week, in a month. We do not know if we will be sitting around our beautiful Seder tables or sitting in a mamad with the Haggadah on our laps, trying not to spill cups of grape juice on the multi-human pileup while we listen for booms in there. Leaning a

Learning and growth are knocking on my door at all hours of the day and night. Sometimes sirens and booms announce their arrival. At first, I was just going about my day. In Tzfat, you learn to live with background noise. Sirens. Booms. My office is a safe room. I walked out of a session and back into the house. The kids mentioned later that they had heard the impact, but like me, they have learned to ignore most of the background music. Then a message came through. Something

We are living through a difficult time. Many people are tired, stretched thin, and carrying a lot. There are worries about the war, disruptions to normal routines, the emotional weight of trying to keep our families steady while we ourselves are also feeling the strain. During times like this, we often wish someone would hand us a clear roadmap for how to get through it. I don’t have a perfect roadmap. But I do want to share a few ideas that have helped me and many others nav

בסוף שנות ה-80, מטפלת בשם פרנסין שפירו גילתה שכאשר היא מזיזה את עיניה מצד לצד, עוצמת המחשבות השליליות פוחתת. להפתעתה, היא הבחינה בכך שאפילו שעות או ימים לאחר מכן, המחשבות שהיו בעבר מטרידות מאוד כבר אינן מפריעות לה. זה הוביל אותה להמשיך ולחקור, לפתח ולחדד שיטה טיפולית בשם EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) , שהפכה לאחת מהשיטות המחקריות והנפוצות ביותר לטיפול בהשפעות של טראומה. ה-EMDR המקורי השתמש רק בתנועות עיניים דו-צדדיות, אך עם הזמן התגלה כי גם גירוי מגע (ט

I went through something in my community this past week that my system initially could not hold. It wasn’t just upsetting. It was disorganizing. I felt myself cycling between anger, grief, clarity, and collapse, unable to stay present with what I was seeing - fear, danger and a frightening lack of moral clarity from people in positions of power. It was hard to witness without either hardening or unraveling. As a therapist, I’m used to helping people build capacity for difficu

I had the delightful opportunity to share origional Torah sources that relate to our work as psychotherapist, drawing on our rich and ancient tradition of Jewish healers, teachers and Tzaddikim. Sharing the video recording here. The source sheet is available right below the video. Lately I have been enjoying creating AI music as a way of expressing and integrating thoughts and ideas. This song includes some of the ideas mentioned in this class.

Devorah Hochstadter and I had so much fun creating this little masterpiece together. If you’re anything like us, you’ll probably recognize yourself - and your parts - in every frame. Trying to show up as a Self-led human in the complexity of modern life, with buzzing phones and endless WhatsApp messages, is… well, exactly what it is. Sometimes the healthiest thing we can do is breathe, smile, and laugh at the whole beautiful chaos. Maybe one day we’ll even start a support gro

More than twenty years ago, during a visit to my grandparents’ 280-acre farm in Oregon, I was staying in the old wooden cabin in the apple orchard back by the upper barn. The air was still, the grass carried the last hint of morning dew, and the pond shimmered through the trees in the distance. It was one of those moments when the world feels wide and quiet at the same time, as if the land is both holding you and inviting you. As I sat there, surrounded by so much beauty and

Inspired by the story of the Sixth Beggar  from Rebbe Nachman’s Tales , this song expresses the essence of healing as I have come to know it, both in my own journey and in the journeys of my clients. Rebbe Nachman hid many deep secrets of Kaballah in all of his works. And while we only understand the most accessible layers of meaning, the story touches me deeply, and I have tried to put into these lyrics some of the meaning that has touched me. In IFS language, the princess  

🌿 A Little Joy Between Loads Mental health isn’t only about processing pain, it’s also about making space for joy, humor, and lightness. Laughter resets the nervous system, softens perfectionism, and reminds us that healing doesn’t have to be heavy. Laundry is a perfect mashal for our inner world: we all collect some stains, we all need a good wash now and then, and with care and patience, everything can come out clean again. So here’s a playful reggae tribute to post-holida

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I know we’re all being told to be gentle with ourselves, to return slowly to routine. But what if that’s not the point at all? You and...

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All effective trauma modalities share a necessary component for healing; they use various techniques to achieve a "healing brain state"