From Community Leaders
We have never met, but I wanted to write a most sincere Thank You for writing your article of March 24th this year on lessons from Holocaust survivors during a pandemic. The wisdom, humanity, and hope I read there made a world of difference for me. Thank you for sharing these stories of your family. Through your writing their lessons, witness, and courage lives on, they still speak.
May you be blessed even during this time of crisis,
Sincerely,
Rev. Andrew Cottrill
Zion Lutheran Church
Yorkton, SK
From Colleagues
“Thanks so much for your energetic and comprehensive lecture yesterday. I could tell my students were very connected to the material and were tracking your presentation closely. It is also evident that you are energized by this topic and the many creative ways you have learned to advocate on behalf of this special ageing community. Your strengths approach is resoundingly successful with your survivors and an example of using it to enhance lives of populations that may be seen as fragile or in need of protection. We are fortunate to have you and your knowledge and skills in our department.”
Marion Van Horn, MSW
Faculty Lecturer, School of Social Work
McGill University
“I have known and admired the work that Myra has engaged in for at least 15 years. In the sphere of services to holocaust survivors, Myra is one of the foremost and trusted authorities that I could count on when I was Director of Community Planning and Allocations at Federation CJA. She is a true professional.”
Allan Schneiderman
Fundraising consultant & grant writer to charities
Government grants & strategic planning for business & non-profits
“Your session was critically important for the success of the conference. Many professionals work on the front line without sufficient training in trauma work. Many clinicians who work with trauma are greatly influenced by the narrowing of perspectives that focus on symptoms and treatments. Many clinicians don’t appreciate the challenge of bearing witness to trauma and what is required of oneself in order to do this. Many service providers only see the “survivor” and never the person. Your work is so important – not only in terms of what you do for survivors in Montreal but also in terms of what you have to teach others about providing services for a survivor population. Your focus on the whole person and on a holistic approach is critical. Too many communities don’t have services, those who do are often limited and when services do exist, the exclusive focus on trauma or “housekeeping services” denies the reality of a lifetime lived since the war. This is not to mention the lifetime lived before the war. Your advocacy for understanding and providing services for the whole person – both in terms of difficulties and needs, but also in terms of creativity and aspirations is a message that needs to be broadcasted. Thank you for bringing this message to the Transcending Trauma Conference.”
Bea Hollander-Goldfein, Director
Nancy Isserman, Co-Director
Transcending Trauma Project
Penn Council for Relationships
“Mazel Tov to you on this monumental and memorable accomplishment! Your strong commitment, heartfelt dedication and tireless work on behalf of the survivor community is reflected in all that you have done and continue to do. The ‘community’ is lucky… I look forward to reading your book and being at the launch in the Spring! Yasher Koach!”
Sara Weinberg, MA
Director, Early Childhood and Elementary Education
Concordia University
From Workshops
“Myra has an amazing depth of knowledge and experience. Our staff members were very pleased with the workshop. They felt enlightened and educated with the information and strategies that were discussed. We would highly recommend all the services Myra provides on all aspects of working with Holocaust survivors and their families”
Leah Deslauriers
Administrator
L’Chaim Adult Day Centre
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
“Myra is pleasant, thorough, accommodating and put together a very informative and powerful training program for our caregivers who work with Holocaust Survivors. They reported that they learned so much and were very appreciative to have this training so that they can now meet the needs of their clients in a more informed way. During the question period Myra interacted with our staff in a very caring and sensitive way. I would highly recommend Myra and any of the services that she provides.”
Elaine Perzow, MSW, RSW
Home Support Manager
Jewish Family Services, Vancouver, Canada
“The more than 70 staff who participated in the Trauma-Informed Care with Aging Holocaust Survivors demonstrated, through pre and post testing, a meaningful amount of new knowledge and skills. The ratings they gave on the content and your style were extremely high – averaging 4.88 on a scale of 1-5! All of our staff rated your knowledge and expertise on the subject at a 5! Overall, you provided cutting-edge material filled with practical techniques reflecting your exhaustive knowledge of research in the fields of social work, Holocaust studies, sociology, neuroscience, and gerontology.”
Joan Grayson Cohen, Esq., LCSW-C
Executive Director
Jewish Community Services,
Baltimore, Maryland, USA
“Just wanted to let you know that staff at JCFS Winnipeg and visitors thoroughly enjoyed the training you provided. We felt that it reinforced much of what we know but also provided a consolidated context for the global trauma that survivors have experienced. We often just take for granted that their adaptive reactions are just the way that the survivor generation behaves. It was refreshing to revisit this through a trauma lens, place it in a generational context and reconnect with the needs of our precious historians.”
Abraham (Al) Benarroch
Clinical Director
Jewish Child and Family Service, Winnipeg
“Myra Giberovitch is one of the foremost experts on the subject of working with survivors of trauma, and particularly Holocaust Survivors. She is able to impart her knowledge, and her years of experience positively and constructively. Ms Giberovitch has presented several sessions to the staff of the Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre, and her work is seen as an essential component of integrating new staff, who may not have a background or feel comfortable working with survivors. As a presenter or workshop leader, she helps participants understand the context of survivor behavior and the complexity and range of human ability and strength, post-trauma, to cope and rebuild.”
Alice Herscovitch
Executive Director
Montreal Holocaust Memorial Centre
“Very well planned. I got many good tips for future interventions with survivors.”
“Very relevant, very interesting levels of knowledge and professional integration of information was moving. Excellent!”
“Excellent. I believe that this type of presentation should have a larger forum, particularly outside of the Jewish community. I will advocate for this when possible.”
“I would like to thank you once again for your most inspiring presentation this morning. My interns found you outstanding as a speaker! You held their attention from start to finish (which is sometimes a difficult task)! Also, the model of empowerment which you promote really made an impression on them. Thank you for sharing your valuable time with us.”
Amy Sheff
Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors
From Consultations
“Myra Giberovitch worked as a validation consultant during the creation of our workbook, Ton étoile du Nord. It is intended for students who experienced armed conflict in their countries of origin, before attending school in Canada. This workbook nourishes resilience by helping students name their experiences, realize their post-traumatic reactions are a normal response to some very harmful situations that people can be forced to live through, identify their healing processes, and envision their future. She provided feedback and recommendations that would invite students’ reflections for healing while respecting the principle of doing no harm. She made incisive observations, asked challenging questions and offered insightful recommendations, both for the workbook and the next steps of the project – all with quiet warmth and authentic caring. Her thoughts on the processes surrounding the development and implementation for use of the workbook were as relevant and meaningful as those she offered on the document itself. She also understood the difficult dynamics of resistance in the system that can erupt around projects addressing experiences of great violence and trauma. Sometimes people, who feel uncomfortable, use their influence to try and sabotage or stop such initiatives. It was a privilege to benefit from Myra’s inspiring blend of profound respect for young people and her vast pool of knowledge and experience related to trauma and healing.”
Nathalie Sirois
Director and Founder
Institut canadien pour l’éducation sur les génocides
From University Students
Undergraduate Students
“Myra was really inspiring, especially her core philosophy of treating every client with love and respect. She showed that the older adults we will work with are strong and have a wealth of experience to share, and it’s our job as social workers to make sure we take the time and make the effort to value them as such. This course completely changed the way I will think about and work with older adults, especially the old old and ones with serious mental or physical handicaps. Taught me that you can’t be a humanist unless your humanism extends to everyone, of every age and ability.”
“I really enjoyed this course with Myra. I wanted to come to class just to listen to her philosophy and understanding of life. Thanks Myra. She is highly connected to her teachings which affects her students beneficially. She encouraged them to participate and speak their minds and she listened to what they had to say. She supported their opinions and their experiences and working from within a strengths based perspective this encouraged everyone to participate. Her knowledge of social work practice with older adults along with natural healing techniques through meditations and energy healings really enriched this course and I am thankful to have been a student in her class.”
“I liked that students were always invited to share their opinions. It really felt like the course was built around what the students wanted, and adapted when we asked for changes.”
“Sharing from students was always encouraged and supported. Furthermore, students were invited to share either experiences or resources that related to practice with older adults with their classmates, allowing for more learning but also a friendly and peer-supportive environment.”
“A very enjoyable and informative course, taught by a very effective and understanding professor.”
“Prof Giberovitch demonstrated herself to be highly knowledgeable in the field, and very passionate about the subject matter. Moreover, she is clearly very devoted to her students and to her role as instructor, and made many efforts throughout the semester to ensure both our learning as well as our well-beings as future professionals. The learning environment was comfortable, safe, and it made the class both enjoyable and informative.”
“I believe Myra Giberovitch is one of the best teachers of the social work school at McGill. She has a lot of experience, has always prepared her lectures very well, and has always linked theory to practice, which is very helpful to students who still do not have experience.”
“One of the best courses taken so far.”
Graduate Students
“This professor encouraged a reciprocal relationship with her students, asking for their reflections and feedback on course content. Her genuine concern for her students, and passion for teaching was evident. She shared her knowledge in holistic practices, such as relaxation techniques with the aim of expanding students’ knowledge of these techniques for their own psychological well being, as well as for possible tools to support their clients. This professor encouraged students’ creativity and to “think outside the box” in terms of their clinical interventions in practice.”
“At the end of the term this professor delivered an encouraging and inspirational message to the students. She expressed her belief that we had the potential to make meaningful contributions in the field, and invited us to contact her in the future to discuss any ideas we may have about developing our practices. In my experience, this was the first time a professor delivered a message like this to her students. After spending years working toward a degree, and on the verge of beginning a career, I felt deeply appreciative to have this professor frame the experience in this way, and express her interest in, and support of our future clinical experiences.”
“Course lectures were well organized and effectively communicated. The professor took the time to ensure that concepts were clearly understood, especially for students who were not in the social work program. The professor provided course materials for students, additional references to relevant sources, and followed up with supplementary references and information after students expressed interest in topics not included in the course outline. I believe these efforts were appreciated by all of the students.”
Field Placement Students
“Myra was my supervisor during my field placement at the Cummings Jewish Centre for Seniors. As a social work student at McGill University, I felt privileged to have Myra as my supervisor during this seven month period of learning. Myra acted as both a teacher and role model for me, and provided me with an open and welcoming environment to explore both my professional and personal self. I was able to develop my social work practice because of the positive and safe learning environment Myra created.”
Clare Karasik
