09/16/2025
Our social worker & therapist, Michele (מיכל רביב מבית תרצה), has openings for therapy clients beginning in October and their waitlist is open now (accessible via the QR code in the last slide, bit.ly/MJP-waitlist, or in our bio). We wanted to share their **Philosophy on Therapy**:
Therapy is not about being fixed, made whole, or perfected. You are not a broken vessel to be repaired or problem to be solved, but rather a being in a constant state of flux. My role is not to make you more acceptable to others, but to help guide you in finding a deep and gentle acceptance of yourself, exactly as you are.
The struggles you face are not simply symptoms to be diagnosed or feelings to be labelled; they are part of the natural, often challenging, landscape of a human life. Therapy is a space for cultivating curiosity, awe, and compassion, not correction. Here, we can engage in a practice of honest inquiry with your innermost Self, exploring the wisdom within your struggles, stories, joy, and pain, rather than searching for absolute resolve or easy answers.
In our work together, we will explore what it means to be fully present with your experience, without judgment. We will practice letting go of the need to cling to certain outcomes or identities. Instead, we will provide space to the parts of you that have been exiled or silenced, so they may be heard in safety—not just by me, but by you. This is a space where we can nurture a deep sense of self-awareness and self-compassion, recognising that your feelings are not facts to be proven, but passing phenomena to be observed with loving-kindness.
The true work of therapy is to strengthen your relationship with yourself—not as a static entity, but as a human in a constant state of change. This work is rarely neat or comfortable, and that is precisely where its power lies. In fact, it is often in the messiness and discomfort that we can truly see the nature of things. For even in the deepest moments of discomfort, of confusion, and of pain, we can find meaning, begin to relate to our discomfort with wisdom and compassion, and discover the path back to a state of connection—to ourselves, to others, and to our communities.
ETA: A dear community member brought to our attention the unfortunate typo in the link on slide 6. That link should read: http://iyapittsburgh.org/socialworker
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