Cutting-edge therapy for the Johannesburg Jewish Community that is accessible and affordable

The Ki partners with community benefactors and experienced mental health professionals to offer short-term, solution-focused therapy –  empowering people from all walks of life to deal with life’s challenges.

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About Us

Mental health issues are highly prevalent in our society, especially now.

At The Ki, we provide accessible, high-quality, affordable mental-health services catering to the Johannesburg Jewish Community. Our therapeutic services – delivered by an array of specialised mental health practitioners – meet the needs of the whole community, including women, men, couples, teens, and children.

The Need

Now more than ever, people are suffering from anxiety, depression, marital issues and addiction, with some even at risk of suicide. The Covid-19 pandemic has compounded these issues, and reports of abuse and domestic violence have risen across the globe.

Some see it as a luxury
they simply cannot afford.

Financial constraints have caused many to move onto a hospital plan which does not cover therapy, while others are on a medical aid with limited coverage.

Not a Priority

There are those who require therapy or professional help, but do not prioritise it. Other people are not even aware that they should look after their mental health and seek out help, the same way they would go to a doctor if they had a broken leg. Unfortunately, there is a widespread lack of mental health awareness.

Benefits

What are the benefits of Short-term therapy?

Short-term therapy, also known as brief therapy, is a form of psychotherapy that focuses on resolving specific issues and achieving targeted goals within a relatively short timeframe. Unlike traditional long-term therapies that can extend for several months or years, short-term therapy typically involves a limited number of sessions, often ranging from a few weeks to a few months.

The key benefits of short-term therapy include:

  • Focused approach
    It concentrates on addressing specific concerns or problems, making it highly effective for individuals seeking immediate relief or solutions.
  • Time efficiency
    Short-term therapy is time-limited, which can be appealing to those who have busy schedules or want to see quick results.
  • Cost-effective
    As it requires fewer sessions, it may be more affordable than long-term therapy.
  • Goal-oriented
    Short-term therapy emphasizes setting achievable goals and working towards them, promoting a sense of progress and accomplishment.
  • Crisis intervention
    It can be particularly useful for individuals dealing with acute or time-sensitive issues, such as coping with a recent traumatic event or managing a specific crisis.
  • Symptom relief
    Short-term therapy often focuses on symptom reduction and practical coping strategies, helping clients experience immediate relief from distress.

In the short-term therapy model, we are not aiming to heal a complete person; instead, we focus on addressing 1 or 2 specific issues. Our goal is to help individuals return to their previous state before encountering these problems. Long-term therapy, on the other hand, can sometimes be counterproductive, leading to negative self-perceptions and a sense of dependence.
While the individual may not be perfectly healed, with short term therapy they can aim to reach back to their baseline of 'normal.'
This approach empowers people, leaving them feeling better and more confident and is highly effective.

Our Services

Sessions

Our focus is on short-term, high-impact therapy, and we will offer packages of 8 sessions for each client. Each session will be 50 minutes. After this initial round of therapy, the client’s therapeutic journey will be assessed, and where necessary the client will be given more sessions.

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Therapists

After an initial phone interview, clients will be assigned to an appropriate therapist from our team of highly specialised therapists.

Meet Our Therapists

Zoom

If you prefer, online therapy can be provided.

375
+
People assisted with short term therapy including individuals, teens, children and couples.
170
+
Individuals have joined our various courses such as DBT, parenting and IFS training.
Our Prices

Without Medical Aid

A 50-minute therapy session will be billed from R400 depending on Medical Aid plan.

With Medical Aid

A 50-minute therapy session will be billed at R400. Please note that this amount is below normal medical aid rates which allows your funds to stretch much further.

Our clients’ means will not be questioned or investigated – we operate on the basis of trust and personal accountability. Confidentiality will be ensured.

Partners

The Ki is active in the community and partners with other communal organisations to promote mental health awareness, psycho education, as well as providing different kinds of mutual aid groups in areas such as trauma, trauma debriefing, marriage enrichment, parenting, coping with anxiety and stress management.

The Ki Partners with:

The Shoshana Foundation - providing their single mother beneficiaries with specialized, affordable and accessible therapy. Click on the link to learn more about their work. www.shoshanafoundation.co.za

Ohr Somayach – providing psycho educational programmes and therapeutic and skills-based groups to community members and beyond. Click on the link to learn more about their work.
www.ohr.co.za

We offer a vital therapeutic referral source to various community helpline and trauma services, as well as opportunities for specialized training programmes.

If you would like your community organization to partner with The Ki, please don’t hesitate to contact us to explore synergy. Email: helpme@theki.co.za

Our Team

MARIA BEIDER

Director

After completing her Masters in Social Work and a post Masters training in Family Therapy at the Neve Family Institute in Israel, Maria and her family relocated to Johannesburg where she opened a private practice and sees individual clients both in person and online. She specialises in trauma, integrating EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitisation Reprocessing) and IFS (Internal Family Systems), two different modalities which she strongly believes in to enable healing. In her spare time, she also works as a programme facilitator in IFS international trainings, writes mental health articles for various publications and is a Field Instructor for overseas students attending Wurzweiler School of Social Work, Yeshiva University. Maria believes in empowering her clients and guides them to reconnect with themselves and heal their attachment wounds. She firmly believes that everyone has the tools they need within them to heal.

TOVA GOLDSTEIN

Director

Tova is a registered social worker and 3 principles practitioner. She is also an accredited divorce mediator.
Tova runs a private practice where she sees tweens, teens, couples and does individual therapy.
She is passionate about pointing people in the direction of their own inner wisdom and wellbeing. She runs workshops and courses that focus on resilience, self esteem, anxiety, stress, worries about the future, understanding where our thoughts and feelings come from and how to access a more settled mind, with clarity and wisdom. Her favourite quote from the Ba'al Shem Tov “from every human being there rises a light” reminds us of our unbreakable spirit. Our essence, our core, our soul, doesn’t get caught up in the complications of life. Our soul is pure potential, whole & strong.

In loving memory of

LARA NOIK

Director

Lara co-directed the Ki from the time of its inception and worked tirelessly up until the last few weeks of her life.
Lara worked as a social worker in private practice and incorporated the principles of innate mental health, resilience, Dialectical Behavioural Therapy (DBT) and relationship modalities into her practice. She believed in the innate resilience that exists within each human being and was passionate about empowering her clients to access their potential and to live their best possible lives. She believed in ‘good mood therapy’, i.e., a positive and nurturing space that uncovers inner strength and mental health. She worked with individuals, couples and families and facilitated groups and workshops. Her philosophy was always : ‘What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.’ Ralph Waldo Emerson.
We pay tribute to the woman and therapist that Lara was.

Leonard Carr

Senior consultant

Leonard is a well-respected clinical psychologist working in private practice as a psychotherapist, working with individuals, couples, families, children, and adolescents. He also works as an organisational development consultant, expert witness and coach. He runs growth courses on relationships and personal mastery through understanding personality.

Associate Therapists

Gabi ArensonGabi is a counselling psychologist. She aims to facilitate growth in her clients as they work through life's obstacles. Her areas of interest include: personal growth and well-being, life adjustments and transitions, relationship difficulties, parenting support, depression and anxiety, bereavement and infertility.
Claudia AbelheimClaudia holds a Master’s degree in Educational Psychology. She has spent the last 13 years working in  individual and family therapy, extensive work with teenagers and parents, conducting training, workshop facilitation and public talks.  In 2020,  Claudia also founded and heads up Solid Ground, a therapeutic company offering wellness services, divorce and family mediation and youth talk, which aims to educate students, parents and teachers on topics that include puberty 101, sexual health,  and interpersonal skills.
Darren Bessarabie
Darren is a psychologist who sees teens and adults, families and couples. He works with grief, trauma, anxiety and anything else that would come up.
Arlene BernsteinArlene has a Clinical Masters in Mental Health. She has a private practice  consulting to individuals, couples and young adults to enhance relationships and build self-awareness. She also fellow professionals for supervision and consults to various counselling organisations and NGOs in the field of people management, education, resilience, trauma and debriefing, life-skills training courses and management of volunteers.
Lior blumenthalLior Blumenthal is an Educational Psychologist. She works with individuals of all ages and also administers psycho-educational assessments. Her special interest lies in maximizing strengths and learning to navigate challenges
Aliza Bilman
Dr. Aliza Bilman is a qualified clinical psychologist, with a Doctor of Psychology degree (PsyD) from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology in the United States. Aliza’s passion is EMDR, an internationally recognized and empirically supported psychothera-peutic approach, which she uses to help her clients strengthen their coping resources and treat trauma, anxiety, and other mental health issues.
Hila Chalmers Hila is a social worker in private practice with over 18 years of experience working with individuals and families. She has a special interest in working with people going through divorce and co-parenting after divorce.
ILANIT GERSON
Ilanit is an educational psychologist who has worked in schools for the last 20 years. Her current interests are working with anxiety and developing self-awareness and coping strategies. 
WENDY HARTSMAN Wendy is an educational psychologist specialising in working with children (play therapy), adolescents, young adults, and parents. In addition, she also does psycho-educational assessments. 
LARRY HIRSCHOWITZ Larry is an educational psychologist who does psychotherapy and assessments. 
JAYDON IMMERMANJaydon is a clinical psychologist who has been practicing for 20 years. He specialises in CBT and works with individuals and couples.
Liane Lurie
Liane Lurie is a Clinical Psychologist in private practice. She works with adults, adolescents and families. She  has contributed towards articles in Cosmopolitan and Women’s Health magazines and spoken regularly on TV and Radio. She runs school based programmes focusing on areas such as bullying, self harm and eating disorders.
Mandy Magid
Mandy Magid is a clinical psychologist practising in Fairmount, Johannesburg. She works with adolescents and adults dealing with many different challenges. She focuses on depression, anxiety, personality difficulties, trauma and neuropsychological difficulties amongst others.  She uses EMDR- Eye movement desensitisation reprocessing, DBT, CBT and ego states theory.
Raylene PokroyRaylene is a psychologist in private practice, working with adolescents and adults. She assists patients with issues such as anxiety, mood-disorders, and relationship challenges. Her experience includes work in schools and with individual private patients.
Esti MedalieEsti Medalie is a social worker in private and a certified clinical Imago Relationship Therapist. Esti is passionate about working with individuals and couples in therapy.
ROMY MICHAELSONRomy has an MA in Drama therapy. Her work uses creative mediums to invite exploration into people’s internal worlds. The bulk of her work is with children and parents, with the aim of empowering them to bring out the best in their families. 
Yochi RessYochi is a Clinical Psychologist and mindfulness/resilience specialist (neuroscience based), with 20 years of working experience. He also speaks, consults and facilitates workshops in leadership.
PINCHAS SHIEL Pinchas is a clinical psychologist and psychoanalytic psycho-therapist providing individual therapy covering all aspects of growth. 
Julie ShillJulie is a registered counselor specializing in trauma debriefing. She uses specific trauma informed, evidence based research techniques such as EMDR and TMR which offer short-term therapy outcomes.
Arielle Susman
Arielle is a social worker with special interests in the field of trauma containment and debriefing as well as grief counselling. She works with individuals, couples, groups and families.
Jacqui Yates
Jacqui is a Registered Trauma Therapist who has been practicing for 17 years. She works with children, adolescents and adults. Her special interests are : Crisis intervention and trauma debriefing; Gender-based Violence and Stress Management. She aims to empower her clients with skills and facilitate them in their healing journey.
Ariella WolfAriella Wolf is a Registered Counsellor and Certified Life Coach who is passionate about assisting women in their growth to discover their authentic voice and become in touch with their intuition. Specialised areas of interest are Marriage Counselling and dealing with drug and alcohol addiction in the family.
Doron ZarDoron is a clinical psychologist who works predominantly from a psychodynamic perspective (in-depth feelings and experiences). The aim of which is to develop a capacity to be self-reflective and insightful about one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions so as to lead a more meaningful and effective life and to have healthier and more fulfilling relationships. He offers individual therapy and couples counselling.

Board members

Rabbi Daniel Beider, Shaun Zagnoev, Tamara Assness and Fran Blumenthal.

Testimonials

This was my first therapy experience &  it helped be so much with my phobias and with many other aspects within my life that I didn’t even know were affecting me so negatively. I have made a lot of changes in my life for the better.

I have grown a lot from this and will carry what I have learnt for the rest of my life. I am so grateful to my therapist and The Ki for providing me with this opportunity. I struggled with depression for a couple of years before this and I can honestly say that after these sessions I am feeling a lot better.

Since starting therapy, this has been the most productive I have ever been in forever. I appreciate everything you have done for me, this has been life changing.

My daughters were benefitting from their sessions with their KI therapists greatly. So appreciate being a Yid and being a part of this JHB community.

Gosh, forever grateful for Ki. I so desperately needed to talk to someone, my issues felt so overwhelming, and I couldn’t afford the rates for a psychologist. A friend referred me, and I started seeing a professional from Ki. I can’t express how she helped me and continues too. Incredibly grateful for this service. It’s got me through some of my hardest days. Thank you.

The Ki has allowed  important family members to get help who would NOT go for therapy due to having no medical aid. It has made a big difference allowing a few people in one family to all get help and pull together and not fall apart and self destruct.

As an old man walked the beach at dawn, he noticed a young boy picking up starfish and putting them into the sea. He asked the boy why he was doing this. The boy answered that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun.

“But the beach goes on for miles and there are thousands of starfish,” countered the old man. “How can your efforts make any difference?”

The young boy looked at the starfish in his hand and placed it safely into the waves. “It makes a difference to this one.”

Loren Eisley (American anthropologist)

Ki is an acronym for kochav yam : כי

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Email

helpme@theki.co.za

WhatsApp

065 533 4442

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