Author » Bea Hollander-Goldfein, PhD, LMFT

Am I a Unicorn? A Therapist & Child of Holocaust Survivors On the Israel-Hamas War

On October 7, 2023, Hamas carried out a coordinated terrorist attack on innocent Israeli citizens and even took hostages. In response, Israel declared war on Hamas, and The Israel Defense Force vowed to “destroy Hamas.” Like everyone else, CFR Clinicians were horrified by Hamas’s brutality and have been processing the recent events like most people….

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Understanding Trauma: Poland & the Holocaust

Holocaust Remembrance Day, colloquially called Yom HaShoah in Israel, is an annual day of reflection and commemoration marking the date of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Bea Hollander-Goldfein, PhD, LMFT, is a Co-Director of CFR’s Transcending Trauma Project and a Staff Therapist. Here, Dr. Hollander-Goldfein, the child of a Holocaust survivor, shares her story of visiting…

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Shifting Perspectives: Confusion as The New Norm Part II – Being Open to Experience and Self-Regulation

Ann Masten, a renowned professor and researcher on resilience, has written volumes on this topic. She documented Post-Traumatic Growth and the reality that some people actually improve their functioning after traumatic and challenging experiences. There is something about engaging in responding to adversity that seems to mobilize some individuals, and they come away feeling stronger…

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Shifting Perspectives: Confusion as The New Norm Part I – Tragic Optimism, Post-Traumatic Growth, and Grief

In conversations with clients, friends, and colleagues, and in the materials I have read from numerous mental health sources, the word “surreal” is often used to describe the feeling of this time when we are living through the COVID-19 pandemic. At times, it feels as if we are living someone else’s life – in someone…

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