Shira Speiser, LCSW

Treat yourself as your own best friend!!

Shira Speiser, LCSW's style

Why Shira Speiser, LCSW chose to be in the helping profession

Although I was a competent high school teacher, I began to feel that I could reach students and meet their needs in a different, more meaningful capacity. This led me to return to school to further my training and expand the ways I could support others. I was drawn to a deeper understanding of people’s emotional worlds and how life experiences shape the way we learn, grow, and cope. Over time, this shift became a turning point in how I understood my own purpose in working with others.

As life events unfolded, I came to experience what is often described as a “wounded healer,” and this shaped the way I sit with and support others in their own struggles. I learned to help people find meaning within their lived experiences, even when those experiences are painful or complex. Although I initially trained and worked as a child and family therapist, over the years my focus has increasingly centered on women’s issues across the lifespan. This includes infertility, pregnancy loss, building and maintaining meaningful relationships, parenting challenges, midlife transitions, as well as grief and loss.

Shira Speiser, LCSW's approach

Building trust and establishing an individualized approach are always the first priorities in my work with clients. From there, as a sense of safety develops, people often begin to share the deeper reasons they came to therapy in the first place. This is usually the point where clients feel more able to be open, honest, and vulnerable about the challenges they are carrying. That openness allows the work to move in a more meaningful and focused direction.

I draw on a range of approaches, including IFS, EMDR, DBT, supportive counseling, and grief work, depending on what each person needs. The goal is to help clients loosen the burdens they have been carrying and create more space for clarity, relief, and self-understanding. Over time, many people find they are able to feel less weighed down and more grounded in how they live their lives. The focus is always on helping clients move toward a life that feels more effective, meaningful, and aligned with who they are.

What you can expect from sessions with Shira Speiser, LCSW

Clients can expect confidentiality and respect to be upheld at the highest level throughout the therapeutic process. Time is treated as valuable, and each session is approached with care, presence, and attention to what the client is bringing. Clients can also expect to be heard in a non-judgmental, curious, and steady space where their experience is taken seriously and met with openness. This foundation is central to building trust and supporting meaningful therapeutic work.

Over time, clients often begin to feel more empowered and less weighed down by the burdens they have been carrying. As the work deepens, there is often a shift toward greater clarity, resilience, and more fulfilling relationships. While life remains unpredictable and there are no guarantees, clients can expect to develop a stronger sense of capability in navigating their experiences. The focus is on helping each person feel more grounded, resourced, and able to move through life with greater meaning and ease.

Shira Speiser, LCSW's experience working with the Jewish community

For over 30 years, I have worked in Jewish day schools and Jewish community social service clinics, including Jewish Family Service and the Jewish Children’s Bureau. These settings allowed me to support children, families, and individuals within a range of educational and community-based environments. Over time, this work deepened my connection to serving within the Jewish community in meaningful and sustained ways.

For the past 17 years, I have been part of CHEMED, working in the behavioral health department of this medical clinic in Lakewood, which serves a very large Jewish population. In this setting, I have continued to provide care within an integrated medical and mental health framework, supporting individuals and families across a wide range of needs. In addition, I have worked with couples referred from Bonei Olam, an organization supporting couples facing infertility, offering emotional support during deeply sensitive and challenging experiences.

Shira Speiser, LCSW's Book Recommendation Zone

• Parts Work by Tom Holmes
  IFS workbook
• Partners with Hashem by Meir Wikler
  parenting book with hands on recommendations that are realistic and can be implemented effectively
• Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl
  purpose and meaning in life
• Stop Walking on Eggshells-Mason Kreger
  relationships-personality disorders
• Tear Soup-Pat Schwiebert and Chuck Deklyen
  grief, loss bereavement

Approaches

• Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT)
• EMDR
• Internal Family Systems (IFS)

Concerns

• Bereavement & Grief
• Depression
• Infertility
• Life purpose and meaning
• Stress management

31 years in practice

Licenses

• LCSW by NJ. License number 44SC05357500

Degrees

• MSW by Case Western University 1995

Awards

• Employee of the month by CHEMED 2010

Certificates

• EMDR by Nefesh 2011

Average costs per session

$175

Payment Methods

• Cash
• Zelle Quick Pay