Psychology. Jewish Identity. Resilience.

Kesher Shalom Projects translates psychological science, clinical expertise, and Jewish cultural understanding into practical tools to address the challenges facing Jewish individuals, families, professionals, and communities today.

Our work addresses antisemitism and Jewish identity, the psychology of propaganda, indoctrination and radicalization, cultural competency, parenting, and resilience through practical, trauma-informed, accessible, actionable frameworks.

Explore our Work

Cultural competency requires more than knowledge about a community.

Our work combines clinical expertise, strong Jewish educational backgrounds, and deep, lived Jewish cultural fluency, allowing us to address the complexities of Jewish identity, peoplehood, belonging, and contemporary antisemitism from both psychological and cultural perspectives.

Why we do

what we do

More about our story

What our clients say…

  • I attended one of the Shalom Workshops on “Working with Jewish Clients in a time of War.” The speakers create a very open supportive environment to address many sensitive topics offering practical skills as well. I highly recommend it.

    CK, LCSWR

  • This presentation was thoughtfully conceived creating a supportive environment (despite the large size) and providing an opportunity to come together to develop additional and very useful skills to use with our clients and ourselves. The shared practice of the techniques presented was particularly strong and a wonderful experience.

    Taylor D., Neuropsychologist

  • This workshop was exactly what I needed as a Jewish therapist working in a difficult time.  Being able to feel safe, and not alone, while learning new tools to treat trauma for clients and clinicians alike was such a gift.

    Naomi Taffet, LCSW-C, VAS-III

  • A lone unaffiliated Jew living in the midwest; barely connected to my Judaism of my childhood, until I found myself triggered as a therapist after Oct 7th- and then the flyer- and so I came to what was a Mental Health training but yet it felt so much more than that. Malka Shaw's presentation and delivery warmed my heart and brought tears to my eyes all at once.  Stacey Shapiro brought an excellent balance of zen and calmness to offset Malka's intensity and passion. It was more than a training or a workshop, it was an experience that I didn't even know I had needed. Thank you.

    JR, LICSW

  • Thank you so much for the amazing training, this was self-care for me and an ability to strengthen my tools to support our Jewish community. I felt like I was able to obtain tangible tools to move forward as I support families that have been directly impacted by the atrocities of October 7th and the war. Being able to discuss the countertransference and tools to manage it coming from facilitators who expressed having similar experiences felt helpful and healing. It is an honor to support the Jewish community at this time, and participating in this training gave me more ways to do so. Thank you again, looking forward to staying connected and participating in other training sessions with the Kesher Shalom Projects.

    Liron Mazal Goldring, ACSW

    Lead Resource Navigator, Center for Jewish Care

    Jewish Family Service of San Diego

  • As a non Jewish therapist, I wanted to understand the Jewish perspectives and how I can support my Jewish clients. This training was eye opening to the history of persecution, slavery and discrimination as well as learning more tidbits about trauma. Impressive that this came together so quickly! Malka’s passion and knowledge is impressive. Highly recommend to take future trainings with KSP.

    Lisa M, LMFT

  • The training was comprehensive. It aided me in understanding Judaism in a new way. As a therapist, it is vital to be able to understand someone from their perspective first before treating them. This training had a unique perspective to aid me with this vital treatment tool.

    Regina Benner LCSW, RPT

  • It is amazing to me that this is the first time Jewish cultural competence was presented in a professional mental health training; there was a lot to unpack with the intergenerational trauma and history that I was unaware of. Malka’s explanation of Zionism and its history and how it truly relates to threatening one’s safety from a lens of trauma helped me understand the emotional process of Jewish clientele and now I do understand how anti-Zionism is anti-semitism. Malka’s warm and down-to-earth, but yet extremely knowledge approach helped facilitate great dialogue amongst the diverse therapists. I would highly recommend taking any training with her again. Thank you, as this felt more than a training but an experience!

    Steve R. LPC, CDAC

  • Kesher Shalom Projects is doing a great job to open the doors of communication between Jewish and non-Jewish clients. Having the ability to ask open questions and learn more is a valuable opportunity. Antisemitism is an important topic to address. Sadly, it does still exist even in 2023. Beginning to learn more was my first step in doing what I can to support my Jewish clientele.

    Elizabeth Stone, LPC, CCATP

    Stone Psych Solutions

  • As a Jewish educator, I believe it is of the utmost importance that we are equipped to handle anything that comes our way when it comes to the mental health of our students. This workshop was extremely helpful, providing tips and techniques to use with children and teens. The resources provided are invaluable. If you are a Jewish educator, I highly recommend taking this seminar.

    Stacey Glazer, MA from Austin Texas

  • This Kesher Shalom presentation was excellent! I took this training in late October, which means this team pulled together quite rapidly, so I will allow for some slides error. But the content was excellent, and Mrs. Shaw really understood trauma and the Jewish content. The tapping presentation could be useful with certain clients. But what I really enjoyed was the ability to facilitate an open and educational conversation about anti-semitism, Israel, and the clinical impacts on our clients was very valuable to me as a Non-Jewish therapist in the greater NY area, so obviously having a high percentage of Jewish clients. Thank you again!

    Alex Melner, LMFT

  • The Kesher Shalom team provides a helpful overview of antisemitism that is both validating and enlightening, how antisemitism has been showing up in the clinical space, and ways for the provider to respond skillfully to challenging situations. I greatly appreciate the timely offering of this cultural competency training in light of the increased antisemitism worldwide. And I am so grateful that Kesher Shalom Projects exists.

    Hannah Kantor, LICSW, LMSW

  • As a non-Jewish therapist who works within a school setting and DEI- this was very informative! I especially appreciated the insight into the development of identity and the Antisemitism of Destabilization of Identity well presented and articulated, and Amazing the way it was presented from a clinical and trauma informed.

    MR, Social Worker from Ontario

    Workshop Attendee

  • This was an amazing presentation that provided a non-biased account of Jewish history as well as basic definitions of current buzz words. It provided support to providers as well as how to approach antisemitism as a clinician for clients.

    Rachel Kahn

    Workshop Attendee

  • I am happy to have taken a course that addresses Judaism int the context of cultural competency. I feel this is a very important subject for clinicians to dive into at this point in history.

    Paula M Vincenza Dante

    Workshop Attendee

  • This was an incredible and empowering training. Kesher Shalom spoke about an incredibly difficult topic in an incredibly careful and thoughtful way. Thank you.

    Danielle Centofranchi

    Workshop attendee

  • I am amazed at how amazing and how much has been done by the whole Kesher Shalom team in a short time span. Almost 20 years in the field and I never saw Jewish Cultural Competency - felt very validating. So much great information. Malka is clearly a skilled therapist, great speaker and passionate! And all of you are so brave! I love that the team was Jewish diverse, and the language that was spoken was clear and respectful to any other backgrounds on the call.

    Workshop attendee

  • I am an ER nurse and this training was amazing! You feel like you really get a sense of what an amazing therapist Malka is, and I loved how she talked about transforming trauma when going thru antisemitism. She described Macro-gaslighting, Identity Destabilization... I love how she explained it, and how she broke down the effects on the client's identity. It was an excellent training! The rise of antisemitism in medical settings is scary and dangerous. I really hope you can take this training to hospital settings.

    Workshop Attendee

  • Malka Shaw was passionate, professional, and extremely articulate in the way she presented what many of us are feeling. I loved that she came up with her own concept that really captured the essence, and explained it in a clinical and trauma-informed fashion. I feel that I gained validation and understanding of how some of the misunderstandings can start to happen. I wanted the training to be longer, and have some breakout groups. I actually would fully support this becoming a 3-part or full-day conference.

    Workshop Attendee

  • I am a MFT and I would recommend attending the training, Navigating Jewish Trauma and Building Resilience. Malka did a great job educating us about Jewish history and how to help clients and therapists alike work through trauma associated with antisemitism by teaching us effective, evidence based interventions to reduce and manage symptoms associated with trauma triggers. I am so pleased that trainings like these are starting to be offered and I will definitely continue to attend trainings that Kesher Shalom offers.

    Jennifer Wolfe, LMFT

  • I wanted to reach out as I just attended Malka Shaw's event on "Navigating Jewish Trauma." There are times when I attend a CE event and am somewhat familiar with the subjects, and leave wishing the presenter had gone deeper or it had taught me something different. While I am Jewish and also use many of the same modalities and practices as Malka, I can assure you that this presentation was exceptional. I felt connected and validated while also learning such wonderful nuggets of wisdom for my personal and professional life. I already passed along the training to some colleagues and I hope they all attend. I hope to hear about more programming in the future!

    Temimah Zucker, LCSW

  • This training was a breath of fresh air. Malka Shaw is engaging, extremely knowledgeable and passionate about the subject matter. It helped me feel more connected and less isolated in dealing with my emotional response to 10/7. As a therapist, I gained a better understanding of how my experiences impact my work with clients, especially appreciating the insights at the end on countertransference were extremely validating. GUARD system was a clever all inclusive means to truly understanding trauma treatment. The discussions on Jewish Trauma and Resilience were insightful and practical, giving me a new perspective that I can apply directly to my practice. Overall, a valuable and impactful experience that has positively influenced my approach as a therapist. Highly recommend not only this training, but extremely supportive of Malka and Kesher Shalom's future endeavors.

    Alex S, Phd

  • I really enjoyed this CEU. It was informative and it was refreshing to have a course focused on Jewish Trauma. Malka Shaw was very engaging. I would definitely take future CEUs through Kesher Shalom.

    Amy Greenberg, LCSW

  • Kesher Shalom Projects is doing amazing work! As the director of the newly started Antisemitism department at the Orthodox Union, my work is closely tied to the college students who are facing many challenges on campus. This workshop is extremely invaluable for the rabbinical directors on college campuses who work closely with the students. I highly recommend this training and appreciate the work Kesher Shalom Projects is doing.

    Matthew Abramowitz

    Director, Antisemitism Taskforce Department

    Orthodox Union

    40 Rector Street New York, NY 10004

    www.ou.org

  • Thank you for a unique presentation/ workshop. Very informative and valuable programming. I especially appreciated how you were able to take the messages of Rosh Hashanna we all heard before and put it into a psychotherapy and personal growth perspective. I appreciate having the grounding skills prior to the anniversary of 10/7- I look forward to more amazing programming- fantastic speakers.

    Rise Above Attendee

  • Very informative and practical workshop. As a Jewish social worker I found it uplifting and empowering in very difficult times. Thanks so much and keep these workshops coming!

    Shayna Kulman-Lipsey

    Rise Above Attendee

  • I'm grateful for the vital support you have provided through Rise Above workshop. I have been looking for resources to address trauma that has resulted from 10/7 massacre and the aftermath. Thank you for validating my experience, and empowering me to take the steps to take care of myself more fully as well as pay it forward.

    Svetlana Burak

    Rise Above Attendee

  • Kesher Shalom Projects, under the leadership of Malka Shaw, is filling a void in the Jewish community and society-at-large. There is a real urgency to address the issues of trauma and healing considering the attacks on Israel and the hatred of Jews closer to home.

    Rabbi Eli Kavon

    Rise Above Attendee

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