Irena Bartman-Fila, LCSW, MSW, PSW — Psychotherapist
About the therapist
Psychotherapy has always been her calling. She began in Poland in the early 1980s, at a time when people struggling with addiction were pushed to the margins and help for them still had to be built from scratch. Today she runs a private practice in individual and group psychotherapy in Bloomfield, New Jersey, combining clinical training, an American license and a deep understanding of what it means to live between two cultures.
- Clinical work since 1982
- Private practice in New Jersey since 1997
Where it began: addiction treatment in 1980s Poland
Irena Bartman-Fila was born and raised in Poland. She studied at the Jagiellonian University, specializing in psychopathology.
In the early 1980s Poland was hit by a wave of addiction to home-produced heroin, and many young people were dying of overdoses. In response, she opened and ran Poland's first clinic for teenagers addicted to heroin. It opened on December 5, 1982, and she worked in close cooperation with Marek Kotański within MONAR.
She went on to direct two clinics treating alcohol and drug addiction. In 1986 she inspired the founding of the "Aquarius" sobriety club, which became an Alcoholics Anonymous group on October 3, 1988. When the group celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2018, she was the guest of honor at the ceremony in Ostrołęka.
Education and recognition
She trained school staff, medical personnel, teachers and lawyers on the causes, consequences and treatment of addiction, and gave media interviews on prevention. On May 5, 1987, readers of Sztandar Młodych, a Polish daily newspaper, voted her best psychotherapist for her work in the field of addiction. In 1988 she received a national honor for merit.
She completed a two-year psychotherapy training program at the Institute for Health and Sobriety led by Prof. Jerzy Mellibruda of the Polish Psychological Association. She was one of three people who finished the program qualified as co-therapists at the national level.
A new start in America
In 1990 she came to the United States without speaking English. Six years later she passed the LCSW licensing exam, in English, which qualifies a clinician for independent clinical practice. In 2000 she graduated from a psychoanalytic institute in Teaneck, New Jersey, with formal training in group psychotherapy. She has run her own practice in New Jersey since 1997.
She knows this road from her own life, which is why she understands patients who struggle in a new country with loneliness, stress and the feeling of having to carry everything alone.
1990
Came to the United States
1997
Own practice in New Jersey
2000
Formal training in group psychotherapy, Teaneck, NJ
How she works
"I consider myself eclectic with the use of all approaches and techniques, adjusting to each patient's capacity, according to my diagnoses."
Treatment begins with a clear assessment, and the diagnosis and plan are discussed with each patient.
She works closely with addiction physicians, psychiatrists, endocrinologists and internists, and refers patients for consultation when needed, so that therapy and medical care support each other. The foundation is confidentiality, a safe setting and mutual respect. Sessions are available in Polish, English or Russian.
Her conviction is simple: the best investment you can make in yourself is education and psychotherapy. Both stay with you for life and benefit the people close to you as well.
Visits are by appointment
Contact and appointments
To schedule an appointment, call 973-748-5302 (office) or 862-668-5571 (cell). Office: 207 Broad Street, Bloomfield, NJ 07003. Before you come in, read what to expect at your first visit.