Experience and qualifications :
My over 30 years of professional experience are as follows:
1975-1978: Education officer and social worker in the prisons service.
1982-1988: Juvenile investigator in the police.
1989-1991: Social worker in charge of rehabilitation of the blind in the welfare department of the city of Ashdod, Israel.
1992-1996: City of Ashkelon, Israel municipal welfare department: Social worker and case manager in a detox/rehab center for drug addicts and their families.
1996-1999:Social worker in a boarding school with problem children.
1999-2002:Social worker in various geriatric-work positions.
2002- Today: (1)freelancer doing, organising and working with groups, individual and family oriented substance-abuse, detox and rehab, couples councelling, mediation in divorce and small claims cases.
(2) On Line therapy.
(3) Social Worker in charge of a hostel for mentally challenged people.
Education / Credentials:
Degrees
Hebrew university of Jerusalem:
Licensed (State of Israel) social worker. (Reg. # 6493)
Additional University degree in Social sciences from Open U, Tel-Aviv.
Post graduate studies: State of Israel Ministry of social welfare study center for professionals in Substance abuse and Geriatrics.
Private course in Legal mediation, Including licensing (Reg. #1954) By the judiciary that allows me to receive referrals from family(=divorce) court and small claims court in solving disputes.
I am not big on words - I am almost all action.
Basically I am father of 5, grandfather of 5.
I live happily in a small town in Israel, and spend my professional life in metropolitan Tel-Aviv working part time both as the professional director of a hostel for persons with special needs (they were once called "retarded" - but now that I work with them I sometimes wonder if it is them that are "retarded" - or possibly the rest of society...) - and my pride and joy was, is and always will be, my family, my 6000 year old-new culture and my country - in that order.
I presented several professional papers, notably my presentation at the 5th international convention on drug abuse that took place in Jerusalem, on a family based, very successful therapy model of which I was co-developer for rehabilitation of the victims of substance abuse.
I also have an internet counseling channel, small time, simply because it is a mizva to help people that are mourning the loss of a loved one where everything that I do is in accordance with Jewish law and traditions. (A free service based on the site )
http://www.sharegrief.com/grief_specialists_details.php?id=33
In addition I have a paid counseling virtual office (for online therapy) on two additional sites www.LivePerson.com/david-ben-gershon and www.bizreef.com, all those in addition to my own site www.davidben-gershon.bravehost.com.
If you are in need of professional help in my areas of expertise:
And you need online sessions by chat, email or phone in either English or Hebrew, you will find me to be professional and yet compassionate, honest and relatively not expensive.
All you have to do is:
www.davidben-gershon.bravehost.com
www.liveperson.com/david-ben-gershon
Skype Name: Rizilly ICQ: 220204080
A request: Please, Psychics, Clairvoyants, missionaries and other charlatans etc.
Kindly DON'T request networking with me.