IN EXPANSION OF CLINICAL SERVICES, YACHAD/NJCD COUNSELING CENTER TO OPEN OCTOBER 15 IN TWO LOCATIONS, MANHATTAN AND BROOKLYN
Yachad | Jewish Disabilities Integration/The National Jewish Council for Disabilities (NJCD) announces the opening of its “Yachad/NJCD Counseling Center” on Monday, October 15 as an expansion of its already existing clinical services.
An agency of the Orthodox Union, Yachad/NJCD is a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing the opportunities of individuals with disabilities, promoting Inclusion through various integrated activities and ensuring their participation in the full spectrum of Jewish life.
Counseling and support services will be available at two locations: Yachad/OU Headquarters at 11 Broadway in Manhattan, and at 1122 Coney Island Avenue in Brooklyn. Payment will be on a sliding scale and financial needs will be assessed before the start of services.
Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, Director of Yachad/NJCD whose vision and innovation continues to make Yachad the leader and standard-bearer of Inclusion within the broad Jewish community, stated, “To meet the Jewish community’s increasing demands for disability-specific counseling services, Yachad has dramatically increased the size of its clinical team. Yachad is quick to respond to the demands of our community. Our counseling program now includes thirty graduate-level social work and advanced psychology Ph.D.-level clinicians-in-training to work in conjunction with Yachad’s staff social workers, psychologists, and licensed psychotherapists. This is all in addition to our highly competitive summer internship program for exceptional and seriously accomplished clinical social work Masters and post Masters-level candidates.”
The Yachad Counseling Center includes group therapy, marriage counseling, parenting skills support, and full counseling and support services for adult and child siblings of persons with disabilities. Yachad staff will also offer as-needed referrals to other mental health clinic programs in the community based upon client needs or level of care. Additionally, the Center provides intensive vocational-related counseling services for individuals with disabilities working toward entering the job market.
The new features of the Center will be provided in addition to Yachad’s long-time services in testing and assessments, social skills counseling, behavioral interventions, case management, and traditional talk therapy, noted Deborah Berman, LCSW, Yachad Senior Social Worker.
The counseling services will, of course, be conducted even as Yachad carries on its traditional Inclusion work, embracing its core tenet that all Jews, regardless of natural variations in abilities, are one hundred percent entitled to their rightful place in the community.
For further information about Yachad’s counseling and support services, or to set an intake appointment, email {encode=”mailto:yachadcounseling@ou.org” title=”yachadcounseling@ou.org”} or call (212) 613-8172.
OU | Enhancing Jewish Life