Clinical Director

Arlene (Ari) Istar Lev, LCSW-R, CASAC II, CSTS, is a social worker, family therapist, educator, and activist who has been serving the LGBTQ+ community for over 30 years. She is the Founder and Clinical Director of Choices Counseling & Consulting and TIGRIS: The Training Institute for Gender, Relationships, Identity, and Sexuality in Albany, New York. She is a Credentialed Alcoholism Counselor and a Certified Sex Therapist (ASSECT).

Ms. Lev offers supervision, consultation, and mentorship for social workers, and other mental health providers. She is an approved Mentor with the Global Education Initiative (GEI) for applicants seeking World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) Certification, a Certified Sex Therapy Supervisor through American Association of Sexuality Educators, Counselors and Therapists (ASSECT), and an approved American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT) Supervisor.

Ms. Lev is a part-time lecturer at the University at Albany, School of Social Welfare. She is an international speaker on issues related to sex and gender, and has lectured at Smith College School for Social Work, Empire College, Vermont College, Union Institute and University, Pink Therapy, Université libre de Bruxelles, and the California School of Professional Psychology.

Ms. Lev is the Founder of PRISM, Inc. which provides low-cost therapy to LGBTQ individuals. She served as a committee member of World Professional Association for Transgender 7th revision the Standards of Care which revolutionized the medical and mental health treatment of transgender people worldwide. She has authored numerous journal articles and three books: The Complete Lesbian and Gay Parenting Guide, Transgender Emergence: Therapeutic Guidelines for Working with Gender-Variant People and their Families, and Families in Transition: Parent Perspectives on Raising Gender Diverse Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults (with Andrew Gottlieb, Ed.).