About Ruth Hirsch MSW, MPH, CMT

I’m a Focusing Trainer and Certifying Coordinator, Social Worker, and Bodyworker. For more than 25 years I’ve been practicing and teaching a variety of western and holistic wellness practices. The essence of my work is balancing and bringing peace, comfort, and insight to body, mind, heart and spirit. I’ve been actively involved in the fields of health, healing, and personal growth, with a special interest in yoga, nutrition, and holistic health since my teen years.

After college (Bates College in Maine, and the University of Stirling in Scotland), I served for two years in the Peace Corps setting up and running maternal and child health clinics in small villages in Niger, West Africa. Afterwards, I returned to the U.S. where I worked in Washington, D.C. at the Federal level on program development for the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program for nearly five years. While in Washington, I was certified to teach yoga and meditation.

In the mid 1980s, I moved to California to earn Masters degrees in Social Work and Public Health. After earning these degrees, I studied a variety of somatic therapies, becoming certified in Massage Therapy, Acupressure, and Focusing, and proficient in other modalities including cranial-sacral therapy, reflexology, and aromatherapy.

Since 1989, I’ve maintained a private practice offering somatic therapy, counseling, coaching, and training to individuals and groups. In 1994 my practice expanded to training psychotherapists, life coaches, and other healing professionals in skills to enhance their work with clients.

In 2002, with a profound sense of “rightness” gained through Focusing, I moved my home and my business to Jerusalem, Israel.

Credentials
MSW: University of California, Berkeley, specialization in Mental Health, 1986
MPH: University of California, Berkeley, specialization in Maternal and Child Health, 1987
CMT: Acupressure, 1993. Specialization: Emotional balancing, 1996
CMT: Massage therapy, 1989
Certified Focusing Trainer, 1995
Certified Yoga/Meditation Instructor, 1983
21 years clinical and teaching experience
27 years meditation practice
Jewish Studies: Berkeley, CA and Jerusalem, Israel

Want to know more? Please contact me.