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Being a Second Generation Holocaust Survivor, I had a lot of exposure to loss. Most of my mother's and father's family members perished in the Holocaust. I experienced this trauma as a second generation offspring. Upon reflection, I attribute my initial pursuit in grief studies to my attempt at making sense of my own personal experience. I then acknowledged and assessed that others could be assisted as well.

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While using several assisting methods, my work reflects my strong grief background , coming from over 20 years of academic and independent study as well as professional and a lifetime of personal experience. I see the impact on well-being of loss due to various adverse circumstances that individuals experience. This view is different from the conventional cultural view related to grief that is primarily related solely to death. To share this innovative view, I developed the ground-breaking Acknowledge, Assess, Assist - components of the  3-A Coping Framework.  The 3-A Framework was originally devised in 2007 to address the losses and grief that caregivers experience while witnessing the decline of their family members living with dementia.  It has been academically published, widely presented and well received.

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My present role as a Coping Strategist reflects the advancement of Acknowledge, Assess, Assist over the years. Since devising the 3-A's, the model has been broadened to be applied not only with dementia but in various other serious illnesses such as schizophrenia, Parkinson's, MS. As well, it has been further developed into a framework with coping tools for people experiencing situational losses related to relationship breakup, job loss, etc.- further demonstrating that grief processing is not simple and not just about death. I pass along tools as a coping strategist, for you to make transformational change in order to cope on your own with whatever challenges you may face. In addition to grief processing, I have expertise in various other methods, such as mindfulness, cognitive reframing and internal family systems that are included in the assist component to enrich outcomes applying the 3-A Coping Framework.

 

 

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Previous Employment:

 

Social Worker, Alzheimer Society of York Region, Canada

Social Worker, Outpatient Mental Health, Markham Stouffville Hospital

Social Worker Intern, Community Psychogeriatrics, Sunnybrook Health Sciences, Toronto, Canada

Social Worker Intern, Newmarket Family Life Centre