A certified psychiatric nurse practitioner who helped found the first social therapy center in 1971, Ann Green has developed over the last 30 years as a deeply compassionate therapist dedicated to helping people grow — no matter how old or young they are — even as they deal with pain and struggle to re-create their lives. Ann is especially gifted in helping people suffering from depression and anxiety, in part because of her ability, as one client put it, to “help us go beyond who we think we are, explore new possibilities and make different choices.” Ann is on the faculty of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy and received a Master’s degree from Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing, where she was awarded the “Certificate of Merit for Demonstrated Commitment in Professional Leadership” for her years of service as a psychotherapist and advocate for the mentally ill.
As a social worker and social therapist with over 20 years’ experience, Baylah Wolfe believes that creativity is essential where emotional growth is concerned. She has worked with a diverse array of people, including people with AIDS, women, lesbians and gay men, seniors and people with cancer and their families. Baylah has extensive experience working with acutely ill patients and family members, helping them to become better decision makers and to deal more effectively with uncertainty. She has presented this work at several national conferences of the Association of Oncology Social Work, the CancerCare Annual Living with Cancer Conference and for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Baylah is on the faculty of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy and has taught graduate-level students at the Hunter College School of Social Work. She earned her M.S.W. from the Adelphi School of Social Work.
Rafael Mendez has brought a practical philosophical perspective to his work as a social therapist for over 10 years. He is widely respected for his ability to help clients see how the ways they talk with each other prevent them from being more intimate with the people they love. In addition to his clinical work, Rafael is an associate professor of psychology at CUNY, hosts the Brooklyn Social Therapy Group’s Community Educational Series, and serves on the board of directors of the All Stars Project, a nationally-recognized youth development organization. Along with Lois Holzman, Rafael co-edited Psychological Investigations: A Clinician's Guide to Social Therapy, a compendium of philosophical conversations with social therapy founder Fred Newman. Rafael is on the faculty of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy and has served as a clinical fellow at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital. He received his doctorate in clinical community psychology from Boston University. He is also the assistant coach of a little league team in Brooklyn.
Psychiatrist and social therapist Hugh Polk has a passion for development in his work with clients. Over the last 30 years, he has helped groups of people from all walks of life to use everything available to them — including their pain and despair — to create more meaningful lives. In addition to his work leading groups and as assistant director of the Social Therapy Group, Hugh was unit chief of the inpatient treatment program at New York Presbyterian Hospital/Cornell Medical Center, Westchester division from 1996-98, staff psychiatrist at the Furman Counseling Center at Barnard College from 1998-2008, and currently serves as medical director for Emblem/Health. He completed his undergraduate studies at Harvard University, received his M.D. from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and did his psychiatric residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Hugh is on the faculty of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy, and has led numerous workshops and presentations on social therapy at conferences in the U.S. and around the world.
In addition to 35 years’ experience as a clinician who clients describe as “dynamic and bold,” Barbara Silverman has pioneered the use of a performance-based development therapy in transforming the relationship between emotionality and health. In this process, she has been especially helpful to women suffering from eating disorders and people with chronic illnesses. She is also nationally recognized for her work with teenagers, and has created an array of innovative programs for community-based agencies, mental health centers and schools, including the ground-breaking “Let’s Talk About It,” mental health program at Erasmus High School in Brooklyn. Barbara has provided training, clinical consultation, program and staff supervision for numerous community-based organizations, been a guest lecturer at Hunter College, Lehman College, Touro College, Adelphi University, and Columbia School of Social Work, and made numerous conference presentations on her work over the past 15 years. Barbara is on the faculty of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy and received her M.S.W. from the Adelphi School of Social Work.
Clients with whom Lew Steinhardt has worked over the years describe him as a remarkably sensitive and caring therapist. In his more than 30 years of work in the field of mental health, he has specialized in working with special needs young people, and puts his focus on helping children and parents find ways of working and playing together that support the entire family to grow emotionally. Lew is on the faculty of the East Side Institute for Group and Short Term Psychotherapy and earned his M.S.W. from Fordham University Graduate School of Social Service. He has worked for the past 25 years at a school for special needs students.