Miri Bar-Halpern PsyD

Miri Bar-Halpern PsyD Dr. Miri Bar-Halpern is a clinical psychologist, advocate, and speaker specializing in trauma and recovery.

She helps individuals, families, and communities navigate the impact of trauma with clarity, compassion, and evidence-based care.

09/18/2026

There are moments in life that quietly change the direction of everything.

In my new essay, “Answering the Call,” featured in White Rose Magazine, I share how October 7 changed not only the way I understood trauma, but the direction of my work.

I write about grief, helplessness, traumatic invalidation, advocacy, and the moment I realized that the career I had spent years building had become something more personal: a calling.

This is also a story about post-traumatic growth—not finding a reason for suffering, but deciding what we do in response to it.

I’m grateful to White Rose Magazine for giving me the space to share this part of my story.

Read the full essay with link below:
https://whiterosemagazine.com/answering-the-call/

09/18/2026

25 years after 9/11, seeing people openly display N**i imagery and rhetoric near the 9/11 Memorial should force us to ask a difficult question: At what point did some forms of hate become easier to excuse?

Arno Michaelis brings a perspective few people can. As a former neo-N**i, he recognizes the language, the worldview, and the feeling of righteousness that can accompany radicalization because he once lived it.

And as a psychologist working in radicalization prevention, I know that extremism rarely begins with violence. There is often a process of normalization first: ideas become more acceptable, dehumanizing language becomes easier to repeat, and the line of what society is willing to tolerate slowly moves.

That is why this conversation matters.

We don’t have to agree politically to recognize antisemitism, dehumanization, or extremist rhetoric for what it is. And we shouldn’t have to wait until hate becomes violence before we take it seriously.

We know where hate can lead. Recognizing the warning signs is part of preventing what comes next.

09/16/2026

Being an upstander doesn’t mean having the perfect words. It means choosing not to stay silent when something harmful is happening.

Speak up. Ask questions. Challenge misinformation. Check in with the person being targeted. Sometimes even a simple “That’s not okay” can interrupt a moment that might otherwise go unchallenged.

Silence can feel safer, but it can also leave someone feeling completely alone.

You don’t have to be the loudest person in the room to make a difference. You just have to be willing to use your voice.

What happens when a therapeutic framework meant to promote liberation begins invalidating the very people it is supposed...
09/15/2026

What happens when a therapeutic framework meant to promote liberation begins invalidating the very people it is supposed to help?

In our article, Decolonial Psychology’s Blind Spot: From Liberation Praxis to Antisemitism, we examine how ideological rigidity can enter clinical spaces, and what that can mean for Jewish clients whose identities, experiences, or connection to Israel do not fit neatly into an “oppressor vs. oppressed” framework.

Therapy should never require someone to hide or separate from part of their identity in order to feel accepted. As we write,

“Healing cannot take place in a space where Jewish identity is vilified.”

Psychology must remain grounded in cultural humility, empirical evidence, and a commitment to do no harm.

Read the full article in the Journal of Contemporary Antisemitism - click link in bio or link below:
https://www.degruyterbrill.com/document/doi/10.26613/jca/9.2.210/html

09/11/2026

25 years can sound like a long time. For families who lost someone on September 11, time is measured differently.

There are children who grew up without a parent. Grandchildren who know someone only through photographs and stories. Families who have built entire lives around an absence that never completely disappears.

Watching my husband carry the loss of his father has taught me something important about trauma: moving forward and remembering are not opposites.

We can grieve what should have been while still creating what comes next.

Today I’m thinking of James J. Hobin, the family he left behind, and every family still carrying someone forward 25 years later.

May their memories be a blessing.

Twenty-five years later, 9/11 is still part of my family’s story.My husband lost his father that day. My children never ...
09/10/2026

Twenty-five years later, 9/11 is still part of my family’s story.

My husband lost his father that day. My children never got to meet their grandfather. Over the years, I’ve seen firsthand how trauma can ripple through a family long after the rest of the world has moved forward.

But I’ve also seen something else: resilience has a ripple effect, too.

Post-traumatic growth doesn’t mean finding a reason for something terrible that happened. It means recognizing that grief and growth can exist together—that we can carry those we lost with us while continuing to love, build families, find meaning, and choose life.

This year, as the 25th anniversary of 9/11 gives way to Rosh Hashanah, that feels especially meaningful.

We remember. We carry them forward. And we keep building.

Shana Tova. ❤️

Intent and impact are not always the same and our newly published research examines why that distinction matters on coll...
09/09/2026

Intent and impact are not always the same and our newly published research examines why that distinction matters on college campuses.

I’m proud to share our study, “Intent vs. Impact: Responses to Campus Protest across Jewish and Non-Jewish University Students,” co-authored with Caroline C. Kaufman, Steven Pirutinsky, and David H. Rosmarin.

We surveyed 337 U.S. university students and found that Jewish students rated Israel–Gaza-related protest images as significantly more offensive, less acceptable, and more emotionally distressing than their non-Jewish peers. The differences were especially pronounced for these protests compared with other campus protest topics.

These findings highlight an important gap: when universities rely only on the perspectives of those who are not directly affected, they may miss the experiences of students who are.

This is not about dismissing the importance of free expression. It is about recognizing that understanding the impact of campus activity requires listening to the people experiencing it.

Our research calls for a bottom-up, harm-based approach that includes Jewish students’ voices in campus policy, mental health support, and conversations about antisemitism.

Read the full article at the link in bio or below:
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10911359.2026.2726502

09/09/2026

September 11 is not just a date in history for my family. It is a loss that continues to shape our lives.

My husband grew up without his father. My children are growing up without their grandfather. That is the ripple effect of terrorism, it reaches far beyond the day of the attack and into generations that follow.

Visiting the 9/11 Museum brought those realities into focus again. The stories, the lives lost, and the families forever changed are reminders of why we cannot minimize terrorism or rewrite its impact.

As a psychologist, I believe we have a responsibility to recognize the harm caused by violence, including the harm that comes when survivors’ experiences are dismissed or minimized. We can have difficult conversations about history and politics without losing sight of the humanity of those who suffered.

If you have never visited the 9/11 Museum, I encourage you to go. Listen to the survivors. Learn the history. Remember the people behind the numbers.

May James Hobin’s memory be a blessing. May we never forget, and may no family have to experience this kind of loss again.

Read the full Associated Press article at the link below:
https://apnews.com/article/canada-cbc-terrorism-united-states-sept-11-00a2f6e3aca3ea783ffa05b1ea089369

As we approach the 25th anniversary of September 11, the language we use to remember that day matters.CBC has revised it...
09/08/2026

As we approach the 25th anniversary of September 11, the language we use to remember that day matters.

CBC has revised its guidance to allow the 9/11 attacks to be described as terrorism without direct attribution, following criticism of its longstanding policy on the use of the terms “terrorist” and “terrorism.”

As a trauma psychologist, I believe we can recognize the importance of journalistic standards while also acknowledging the impact language has on survivors, families, and communities who carry the trauma of that day.

September 11 was an act of terrorism. Nearly 3,000 people were killed, and countless families and communities were forever changed.

Remembering them means honoring the truth of what happened, the lives that were lost, and the people who continue to live with its impact.

Read the full Associated Press article at the link below:

https://apnews.com/article/canada-cbc-terrorism-united-states-sept-11-00a2f6e3aca3ea783ffa05b1ea089369

09/03/2026

Sometimes you can feel negativity before you even have time to process it. You hear that someone has been talking about you, and suddenly your body tightens, your heart races, and your mind starts filling in the blanks.

Before reacting, pause.

For me, that might mean placing my hand on the sand, feeling the warmth beneath my feet, and reminding myself: I am here. I am safe in this moment.

Notice what you can see, hear, and feel around you. Give your nervous system a chance to return to the present before deciding whether someone else’s negativity deserves any more of your energy.

You cannot control what people say about you. But you can choose what you allow to stay with you.

Ground first. Then decide what deserves your attention.

Address

Boston, MA

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Miri Bar-Halpern PsyD posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

Category