Sharon Rosen

Social Worker & Clinical Counselor - Ferndale, Randburg

BA(SS) UNISA; Psych Honors (RAU); MA Psych Research (RAU)

I am a social worker doing clinical counselling from the Randburg area. I have been practising since 1993. I work with individuals, couples, families and groups. My focus is on facilitating mental health and self-empowerment. Addiction is my special interest, such as substances, sex and self-harm.

I have worked extensively with dual diagnosed patients in addiction and other clinical diagnoses such as mood and personality disorders. When I work with families of addicts a lot of the focus is on education about the disease of addiction as well as how the family often help to enable the existence of the disease through co-dependency. Strong support is given to the family at an incredibly challenging and difficult time of their life. When working with individuals from any population or problem area, I allow the client to guide me whether it’s going to be long-term or short-term therapy. Long-term therapy focuses largely on how the past informs on present behaviour and coping strategies, as well as looking at the effect that past issues have on present life. This is especially pertinent while working with sex addiction as very often, early childhood traumas are often a source of the later acting out in sexual ways.

A main value running throughout my personal and work life is that of encouraging others to locate and trust their own sense of wisdom. My focus therefore, is in getting the other to start trusting, respecting and listening to themselves once again. I am also very conscious of the therapeutic value of the relationship between therapist and client and respect this at all times.

I understand therapy to be about the client embarking on a journey of self-discovery – for the therapist to emphasise the client’s healthy features as opposed to only concentrating on negative or pathological features.I believe that my non-judgemental stance is vitally important when working with my clients, especially addicts and their shadows.

I strongly encourage the 12-step program when working with addictions.

I run weekly sex addiction process groups looking at the origins of the behaviour and the acting out of the addiction itself. I am especially interested in working with sex addicts and am aware of the lack of understanding around this particular addiction.

PR NO: 8905657
SACSSP 10-14286