Counseling course

Unique training initiative focused on supportive counseling and referral skills for women in communal roles

GET READY TO:

LEARN

Learn about common psychological problems, supportive counseling skills, and the impact of distressed family relationships.

PROCESS

Process with mentors to apply acquired skills to situations communal leaders face on a regular basis.

CONNECT

Connect with women from across North America and develop a network of resources for referral and personal support.

IMPACT your community as an informed leader who can provide guidance and resources for those in need.

FELLOWSHIP INCLUDES:

Virtual Course: Weekly 2-hour sessions, including instruction and small group processing: Wednesdays April 26, May 3,10,17,31 (no session May 24), June 7,14,21, 8:00-10:00 PM EDT
In-person Fellowship Seminar, July 10-11 in the tri-state area
$750 stipend plus seminar (includes $350 travel voucher from cities over 275 miles from venue)

INVESTING IN WOMEN IN COMMUNAL ROLES

Serving on the front line in a Jewish communal role often means being the person turned to when community members are struggling. Learn counseling skills, how to provide personal and communal support and calm crises, and gain the information necessary to make a referral to the professionals trained to work with the specific issues being presented.

This virtual training seminar will include small group mentoring providing the opportunity to apply acquired skills while receiving insight and guidance from mental health professionals serving in communal roles.

Applications accepted until March 30, 2023 (Fellowships will be awarded on a rolling basis.)

Virtual Course Instructors

Debbie Fox, LSW
Founder and Director, Magen Yeladim Child Safety Institute, Licensed Social Worker, Lecturer, Author More about this speaker
x
Debbie Fox, LSW
Founder and creator of the internationally recognized Safety Kid program, Debbie Fox has facilitated a unique partnership between schools, families and children to create a safer world for our community’s youngest members; at home, school and at camp. Guided by her passion for keeping children safe, she established Magen Yeladim Child Safety Institute in 2013 and currently serves as its director, consulting throughout the world on abuse prevention and intervention. A licensed social worker, Debbie also lectures frequently and has published within her areas of expertise and most recently authored Seminary Savvy: Every Girl’s Guide to a Successful, Safe, and Satisfying Experience – in Seminary and Beyond. Her work as a consultant has been utilized by county and state agencies in the areas of child, family and cross-cultural sensitivity training, for which she has received letters of honor and recognition.
Bea Hollander-Goldfein Ph.D., LMFT
Director, Transcending Trauma Project under the auspices of the Council for Relationships; Council for Relationships, Senior Staff Therapist, Instructor and Supervisor in the Post Graduate Certificate Program More about this speaker
x
Bea Hollander-Goldfein Ph.D., LMFT

Bea Hollander-Goldfein is the former Director of the Post Graduate Certificate Program in Marriage and Family Therapy at the Council for Relationships. Since 1991 Bea has been the Director of the Transcending Trauma Project which is a large scale research program investigating coping and adaptation after extreme trauma. She holds the position of Clinical Assistant Professor in the Division of Couple and Family Studies, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia, PA. Bea is licensed as a Clinical Psychologist and as a Marriage and Family Therapist. She is an AAMFT approved supervisor. She is also a member of the American Family Therapy Association. Bea received her doctorate in psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University and subsequently expanded her academic training to include certification in Marriage and Family Therapy. Systemic theory has guided her clinical practice and research activities for over 30 years. She has presented broadly on the topic of trauma and the importance of an integrated model of coping and adaptation. She has also published in the fields of Marriage and Family Therapy and Trauma studies.
Jessica Kalmar, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Psychology, Director of Psychology Lab & Honors Program Coordinator, Lakeland University; Rebbetzin, ASKT (Anshei Sfard Kehillat Torah) More about this speaker
x
Jessica Kalmar, Ph.D.
Dr. Jessica Kalmar holds a Ph.D. in psychology with a neuropsychology specialization from The Graduate Center of the City University of New York. She is the recipient of numerous professional honors and several foundation grants, and served as a co-investigator on a grant from the National Institutes of Health. At Lakeland University, Dr. Kalmar received the Faculty/Student Research Grant to study the factors that influence attitudes towards people who suffer from mental illness. Her research has been published in more than 30 professional journal articles and book chapters, and she co-edited a book, “Information Processing Speed in Clinical Populations.” She holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and political science from Yeshiva University’s Stern College for Women and a master’s degree in psychology from Queens College, City University of New York.

Jessica and her husband, Rabbi Wesley Kalmar, are Rabbi and Rebbetzin at Anshe Sfard Kehillat Torah (ASKT) in Glendale, Wisconsin. Jessica takes an active role in the shul including teaching varied classes, leading book reviews, providing inspiration at Women’s Tehillim Group and teaching kallot. Prior to serving as a Rebbetzin, Jessica’s involvement in Jewish communal work included teaching with Operation V’shenantem in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, YUSSR in Minsk, Belarus and T’Chiya Volunteers in Israel. Jessica and her husband are the proud parents of four children who love living in the wonderfully warm ASKT community. The Kalmars are 44% of the way towards reaching their goal of hiking in the beautiful 79 Wisconsin state parks, forests, and recreation areas.
Frani S. Pollack, LSW, Ph.D.
Psychology and social work professor, Sara Schenirer School of Social Work, the University of Pennsylvania, & Council for Relationships; senior trainer at the Home-Based Family Program in Pennsylvania. More about this speaker
x
Frani S. Pollack, LSW, Ph.D.
Frani S. Pollack is a licensed social work and psychologist. She has worked with individuals, couples, and families for over 25 years. Frani specializes in family work and teens/young adults struggling with multiple challenges. She teaches courses on eating disorders at the Sara Schenirer school of social work and teaches family work at the University of Pennsylvania, Council for relationships, and is a senior trainer at the Home-Based Family Program in Pennsylvania. Frani has taught family and couples work at the Family Institute in Har Nof Jerusalem. She has spoken at conferences, co-authored several book chapters, and has written in peer reviewed journals.
Shana Yocheved Schacter, CSW
Psychotherapist in private practice and leadership training consultant for Rabbis and Rebbetzins More about this speaker
x
Shana Yocheved Schacter, CSW

Shana Yocheved Schacter, CSW is a psychotherapist in private practice in Teaneck. Special areas of experience are in dating, marriage preparation and marital therapy. She also helps people with anxiety and depression and the ways it prevents them from reaching personal and professional goals.

Yocheved has also consulted for decades on leadership training including programs at Yeshiva University, the RCA, and the OU. She has contributed articles to Jewish Action on parenting, dating, adolescence and resilience.
Roz Sherman, M.A., Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist; Co-director and adjunct professor at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology/Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary program More about this speaker
x
Roz Sherman, M.A., Ph.D.
Dr. Roz Sherman is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Manhattan. She earned her B.A. in English Literature from Barnard College, her Hebrew Teacher’s Diploma from Yeshiva University Teachers Institute for Women, and her M.A. in Jewish Studies from the Touro Graduate School of Jewish Studies. After a successful career as manager of a technical documentation department at JPMorgan Chase, she received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Long Island University. Dr. Sherman currently serves as co-director and adjunct professor at the Ferkauf Graduate School of Psychology/Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary program where she teaches psychology to rabbinical students to increase their psychological sensitivity, knowledge, and skills. She also serves on the board of the Orthodox Union, where she is chair of Jewish Action magazine, and the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in Manhattan.

Virtual Course Topics Include:

Counseling skills: listening skills, building a trusting relationship, confidentiality
Evaluating the need and referring to appropriate specialists, application of these skills when confronting the issues addressed in this course
An introduction to common diagnoses affecting our communities and the impact of these conditions, including anxiety, depression, OCD, ADHD
Understanding family systems: the impact of family of origin and early attachment, the importance of trust, communication and bonding, the impact of healthy and troubled relationships, marital conflict, challenged children, divorce/separation.
Teens: unique challenges, influences and experiences of adolescence, psychological, emotional and physical developments, common concerns and possible pathology that may emerge during this time, the power of the parent-child attachment, importance of community leaders and how they can support families & teens, concept, theories and research on attachment and the power of attachment during this vulnerable age
The experience of traumatic events and circumstances goes beyond the stresses and strains of normal life challenges. Trauma spans the continuum from threats to one’s life and physical safety to events that destabilize one’s emotional well-being. Traumatic experiences overwhelm one’s capacity to cope and create vulnerability to ongoing difficulties that are not easily overcome. Support and therapy can help alleviate trauma’s impact.
Unique challenges of Rebbetzins, Kallah teachers, Kiruv and Chinuch Professionals – in their communal roles and personal and family lives

For more information, please contact Mrs. Adeena Mayerfeld, Assistant Director, OU Women’s Initiative, at mayerfelda@ou.org

The purpose of this course is to provide general information to assist you in your communal work with respect to when and how to refer to appropriate mental health professionals. This course is not intended, and should not be construed, as formal training, permission to practice as a mental health counselor or for certification or license in the mental health field.