Sessions
Thursday: Mental Health Symposium
Reconnecting With What Matters:
How Investing In Our Relationships Helps Us Thrive
Thursday May 4, 2023
7:30-9:00 PM EST
Dr. Rachel Goodman, Moderator
Co-Chair, Mental Health Shabbat 2022
Rabbi Zolly Claman
Rabbi, Congregation Tifereth Beth David Jerusalem
Allan Ptack, M.S.W., M.Mgmt
Social Worker, Psychotherapist, COO Agence Ometz
Connie DiNardo
AMI-Quebec
Dr. Miriam Kirmayer, Keynote Speaker
Friday: Teen Mental Health Workshop
Stay Connected: The Power of Authentic Friendships
Friday May 5, 2023
10:00 AM EST
Dr. Miriam Kirmayer
This is a workshop for upper high school students.
Shabbat Day:
Saturday May 6, 2023
Stuart Katz
Director Nafshenu Alenu
BIO:
Best known for getting the job done in a quiet manner, Stuart is always leading by example – whether in the for-profit or not-for-profit sectors. He is a co-founder of the Nafshenu Alenu mental health educational initiative founded in 2022. He currently serves on the Board of Visitors of McLean Hospital, affiliated with Harvard University Medical School. He serves as Chairman of the Board of OGEN – Advancement of Mental Health Awareness in Israel; chairman of Mental Health First Aid Israel and a partner in “Deconstructing Stigma” in Israel. He is on the Board of Directors of the Religious Conference Management Association. He has counseled over 7,000 individuals and families in crisis in the United States, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Syria, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, and has volunteered over 900 hours on the Crisis Text Line. In addition to his expansive work of Mental Health First Aid in Israel, Stuart is an instructor for the program in the United States in both Standard and Youth Mental Health First Aid as well as an instructor in the following specialties: Mental Health In The Workplace, Mental Health For Older Adults, Mental Health For First Responders, Mental Health In Higher Education and Mental Health For Military Veterans and Their Families.
Rabbi Benyamin Bresinger
Director Chabad Lifeline
BIO:
Rabbi Benyamin Bresinger grew up in Montreal, where he completed his university degree at Concordia. After graduation, he continued his life education by traveling extensively, visiting over twenty-five countries world-wide. For his rabbinical education, Rabbi Bresinger studied at Toras Chaim Yeshiva in Jerusalem, Israel, followed by higher education at the Rabbinical College of America Kollel in Morristown, N.J.
Rabbi Bresinger’s passion has always been working with recovering addicts. He became the pastoral counsellor for Jewish addicts in recovery for the Metro West Health and Healing Centre in New Jersey.
He has lectured extensively around the United States on the topic of spirituality and addiction.
In 2007, Rabbi and Mrs. Bresinger and their children moved to Montreal to be the directors of Chabad Lifeline. A Chabad house whose mandate is to serve everyone effected by addiction.