American Family Therapy Academy

Arlene (Ari) Istar Lev LCSW-R, CASAC, is a social worker, family therapist, educator, and writer whose work addresses the unique therapeutic needs of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people. She is the Founder and Clinical Director of Choices Counseling and Consulting providing individual and family therapy and TIGRIS—The Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality, a post-graduate training program in Albany, New York.

Arlene is a part-time lecturer at the State University New York at Albany, School of Social Welfare where she has developed an advanced graduate course called Sexual Identity and Social Work, and is currently working with the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project (SOGI). She is also an adjunct at Empire College where she teaches Sex and Gender in a Cross-Cultural Perspective. Arlene has authored numerous journal articles and essays including authoring two books: The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide and Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and their Families winner of the American Psychological Association (Division 44) Distinguished Book Award, 2006.

Arlene is the Founder of Rainbow Access Initiative, a training program on LGBT issues for therapists and medical professionals in the Capital Region and the Clinical Supervisor for Center Support: Counseling Services, a low-cost therapy program at The Pride Center of the Capital Region. She serves on the editorial Boards of The Journal of GLBT Family Studies, and The International Journal of Transgenderism. Arlene is a member of the National Association of Social Workers, the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, the American Psychological Association (Division 44) and the American Family Therapy Academy, where she was the 2011 Conference Chair. She can be reached at Choices Counseling and Consulting, 523 Western Ave, Suite 2A, Albany NY, 12203, 518.463.9152, or infochoicesconsulting [dot] com  www.choicesconsulting.com.