Rich Kirschen, at The Blogs

Rich Kirschen

Thoughtful, Caring and Effective Therapy

May 10, 2026, 11:38 PM

Feeling like Freud at the end of the Austro-Hungarian Empire

Were the mental health crises I witnessed in American Jewish teenagers a symptom of a political destabilization already on its way?

Mar 29, 2026, 12:48 AM

From Probuzhna to Jerusalem: What My Grandmother’s Hiding Place Taught Me About Raising Children in a War Zone

Asking a Jew whose family came from Eastern Europe where they're from is more complicated than it sounds. It's like the joke about the old Jewish woman who wakes up one morning to find her home is now in...

Feb 4, 2026, 3:17 PM

Post Traumatic Growth: Finding Transformation After Trauma

In some ways, there has been a collective sigh of relief in Israel with the last hostage being released from Gaza. And yet, let us not forget that just like Ran Gvili (the last hostage), so many hostages did...

Dec 23, 2025, 7:26 PM

Talking about my rumination

If dealing with trauma weren't enough after two years of war here in Israel, I've noticed another challenging psychological byproduct: nonstop rumination. This rumination takes the form of endless arguments in my head with people attacking me and my country—not...

Nov 2, 2025, 4:53 PM

Two years of war have taught me how trauma replaces compassion with survival

As an Israeli, two years of brutal war have taught me that trauma often replaces compassion with survival. Some days I feel rage and hunger for revenge. Some days I feel nothing—zero compassion, zero empathy, just a blank wall. Other days I...

Aug 7, 2025, 3:21 PM

When belonging breaks: The Psychological Crisis Facing American Jews

My father Herman during WWII with his buddies Mickey and Kutzik. They were all first-generation Americans with a deep commitment and belief in America.

In an America where democratic institutions strain under pressure and antisemitism surges across the political spectrum, many American Jews are experiencing profound psychological upheaval. What was once secure belonging in American society now confronts an unsettling reality that demands...

Aug 6, 2025, 2:22 PM

Trauma, Psychotherapy and the Gaza War

As a therapist in Israel, I have spent close to two years seeing clients during the Gaza war—exhausted, fearful, grieving through sleepless nights. This war feels like none we've ever known, and that's saying a lot for Israelis. Normally, when...

Oct 26, 2022, 9:24 PM

On Aliyah and Individuation

For so many of us who made aliyah (moving to Israel) there was that Lech Lecha moment like the story of Abraham in the Book of Genesis, when we felt commanded to leave the land of our birth and...

About Me

Rich Kirschen is a Jerusalem based American Israeli psychotherapist who works with new and veteran Olim (immigrants to Israel) helping those who are struggling with anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, trauma, addiction and or relationship issues. He did his training at the NYU School of Social Work, The Israel Institute for Family Systems Therapy, the Beck Institute for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and The Institute for Internal Family Systems. A keen observer of Israel, Rich lectures both in Israel and abroad, offering a unique perspective into the psychological underpinnings of Israel and Israelis.

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