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| Our Staff |
| Beatrix Schwartz |
Tova Friedman |
| Linda Berger |
Ruth Edelman |
| Melissa Kleiman |
Elise Prezant |
| Susan Schankler |
Suzanne Martin |
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Beatrix Schwartz L.C.S.W., D. Div.
Clinical Director
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I like to think of myself as a well-seasoned therapist and have had over 22 years of counseling experience. Before listing my credentials, I would like to speak of my passion. My passion is to assist those who come to me in finding their truth, their purpose and their bliss. I believe strongly that we all enter the world in a state of utter perfection. But often things go wrong. And the Self receives injuries… psychological…. physical…. emotional… spiritual. My idea of therapy is to help to restore the Self to its original state of perfection.
“I feel extremely blessed because I have, and continue to journey with wonderful people who are engaged in self-realization, self-knowledge, and self-growth. I am comfortable with most human struggle from loss of self to loss of other….from inner conflict to conflict in families and relationships”.
Beatrix Schwartz has a Masters Degree in Social Work and a Masters Degree in Divinity. She is Licensed in New Jersey as a Family Therapist and is a trained Ericksonian Hypnotherapist. (She rarely use hypnotherapy except in guided imagery when requested). Beatrix's background includes teaching in both the Undergraduate and Graduate Department of Social Work at Rutgers University. For eight years she was employed as a clinician at the University of Medicine and Dentistry. She was also the Director of the Metuchen Senior Citizen Center.
Beatrix has designed a workshop, called “Living Well in an Unwell World,” which she enjoys presenting in the corporate world or anywhere she is asked to speak. At the present time she is training to be a Professional Life Coach, a skill, she hopes to use to help people actualize their dreams. |
| Tova Friedman L.C.S.W. 
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Tova Friedman received a B.A. in psychology from Brooklyn College, an M.A. in Black Literature from CCNY and an M.S.W. from Rutgers, The State University with a specialty in Gerontology.
Tova is Executive Director of Jewish Family Service of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties and has over 20 years of experience providing psychotherapy services and managing programs and agencies. She has provided psychotherapy services to individuals, families, couples and groups. She has also managed and provided Employee Assistance Program services for many companies in Somerset County. Mrs. Friedman has extensive experience working with special populations including immigrant families, the elderly and individuals dealing with difficult children.
Tova, a Holocaust survivor, shares her experiences in Auschwitz with many schools and organizations. She hopes that her stories will emphasize that prejudice and violence will destroy both the victim and the victor. Her story and that of two of her friends appears in the book, Kinderlager, Milt Nieuwsma, 1998, Holiday House.
She has 4 children and 5 grandchildren. For 10 years, she and her family lived in Israel where she taught at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. |
| Linda J. Berger L.C.S.W. |
Linda Berger has been a Geriatric Case Worker at JFS since 1994 and provides in-home assessment and counseling to elderly clients and support to their families. In addition, Linda provides counseling to children and adults. Linda received her M.S.W. from the University of Pennsylvania and is a licensed marriage and family counselor. Prior to coming to JFS, Linda provided individual and group psychosocial counseling in hospital settings including the VAMC in East Orange and NYU Medical Center and was employed by Family Counseling Service of Somerset County. Presently, in addition to her work at JFS, Linda is a consultant providing counseling to patients of a psychiatrist at Overlook Medical Arts Center. |
| Ruth Edelman L.C.S.W 
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Ruth Edelman, LCSW is the Coordinator of the Family Mentor Program for JFS. Ruth has an MSW from the University
of Michigan, and holds a postgraduate certificate in Infant Mental Health. She has worked with children and
their families for over 30 years in medical and social service settings. She has held supervisory
positions overseeing social workers and psychologists, and has presented numerous workshops locally and nationally
on work with children from birth to three, grief and loss, and supervisory and management topics.
“I believe strongly in the power of relationships for healing in our lives. We need one another. Most of
us have much more to give than we realize. A supportive word, a caring gesture can make a difference to someone
when they are feeling alone and struggling with some issue. The Family Mentor Program recruits, and
trains volunteers who are matched with Somerset County families feeling overwhelmed with parenting and/or
household management. I love the program because it brings people with a need together with people who are in
touch with their humanity. The volunteers are ordinary people, but they understand what ‘being
there’ for someone is all about, and are willing to make a commitment to be a mentor to a family for a
whole year. I learn things from the families and from the volunteers all the time. It is a richly
rewarding experience to coordinate the Family Mentor Program.”
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| Melissa Kleiman L.C.S.W |
Melissa Kleiman is a licensed clinical social worker at JFS and works with children and adults. She received her MSW from Columbia University. She has worked previously with adolescents, families, couples and children at Bergen County Family Guidance in Hackensack and Hunterdon Behavioral Health at Hunterdon Medical Center. She left the workforce to raise her three girls and has returned to JFS of Somerset, Hunterdon and Warren Counties to continue with her passion of helping people. |
Elise Prezant Project Coordinator
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Elise Prezant has over 20 years of experience providing employment and vocational rehabilitation services in New Jersey and Georgia. Before joining JFS, she was the Manager of Career Services for Jewish Family and Career Services in Atlanta, Georgia. Ms. Prezant was responsible for the Career Counseling and Testing, Recruitment and Senior Employment programs. She has also provided vocational evaluation, vocational counseling, placement assistance and support to individuals with and without disabilities.
In addition, Ms. Prezant was the Executive Director of The Raritan Valley Workshop, an Easter Seal Facility in North Brunswick, N.J. The Raritan Valley Workshop provides vocational training for over 300 adults with disabilities on a daily basis. |
| Susan Schankler L.C.S.W. |
Susan is currently a licensed clinical social worker at Jewish Family Service. Her credentials include EMDR certification and training in the sexual abuse of children. Susan has extensive experience working with adolescents, single parents, and families. Her work has also included intensive therapy with physical and sexual abuse victims and their families. |
| Suzanne Martin L.C.S.W. |
Sue Martin, LCSW has 18 years experience with Child Study Teams working with parents and children with special needs. She works for Jewish Family Service as part of the Family Mentor Program staff. She graduated from Temple University, Rutgers University School of Social Work. She has a post-graduate certification in family therapy from the Center for Family Studies. |
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