Mental Health and Wellness

History

In January of 2009 Temple Isaiah hosted a conference for the Contra Costa Jewish community called P’tach Libeynu: Beginning a Conversation About the Stigma of Mental Illness. Two hundred people attended and we launched an important initiative to help those with mental illness, their friends and family members, mental health professionals and Jewish professionals grapple with the on-going communal challenges of supporting and integrating those with mental illness.

During the conference, we created a “next steps” list of priorities and we are currently fulfilling the first on that list by offering a support group for family members of adults with mental illness. We began with a support group facilitated by Jewish Family and Children’s Services of the East Bay. As participants complete the facilitated support group, they have the opportunity to join a lay led group which will have more of a social support and resource sharing focus. Other steps include a speakers program, education through temple bulletins, website, and emails, and continuing education for rabbis, cantors, and educators on this important topic.

Spotlights

See our spotlights and past programs archive at https://temple-isaiah.org/community/spotlight-archive/

Drop-in Support for Adults

Mental Health Support for Adults
Second Sundays from 3:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m.
Welcome Jacqueline Golub to our support group team. Beginning in January 2023, Jacqueline will be the primary facilitator for our group. Diana MaKieve and Michaela Frydman will be providing support and backup as needed. Jacqueline is a third-year doctoral student in Clinical Psychology at John F. Kennedy National University. In 2019, she received her Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology at Chapman University. Among other things, she assists in operating group homes in the East Bay Area for individuals with disabilities and provides support for kids with mental health problems within the San Ramon Valley Unified School District. She has been a lifelong congregation member and remains committed to Temple Isaiah and its community members. Welcome Jacqueline!

Whether you are going through a difficult period or have ongoing mental health issues, please join us for our monthly drop-in support group. We provide an opportunity to share and support one another as part of a nonjudgmental, caring community. Facilitated by Jacqueline Golub and free of charge and open to the public.

Questions? Contact: .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or (925) 988-9707.

Community Resources

The crisis text line (https://www.crisistextline.org) is a great resource for people of all ages, including friends or family who are concerned and need advice about someone. You can also text “home” to 741741, and someone will respond. If you have a teen or young adult at home, give them this text information to put in their phone so they can easily be in touch with someone on their own. Texting can break down the barrier to getting needed support.

If you are having a mental health emergency, you should immediately call 1-800-833-2900, for 24-hour crisis support.

The national suicide support line is 1-800-273-8255.

If you are looking for a professional therapist, there are several resources to consider:
• Jewish Family and Community Services of the East Bay in Berkeley (510-704-7475) and Concord (925-927-2000)
• Discovery Center in Danville (925-837-0505) provide sliding scales for services based on your ability to pay.
• Local sliding scale therapists can also be found at https://bapti.org/ and https://www.wi.edu/wi-clinical-services
• For therapists who take your insurance, call your insurance company for referrals.
• For full-fee therapists or more information about therapists, see https:// http://www.psychologytoday.com/us
• For private referral possibilities, you can call our volunteer retired psychiatrist Hugh Winig, M.D. at 925-283-3721 for his suggestions or contact one of our clergy.

National Alliance on Mental Illness
https://nami.org/Home

More Resources
http://www.openourhearts.net/Open_Our_Hearts/Resources.html

Neshamah Yoga Wellness

Long term stress, and stress due to trauma, can be toxic to our bodies; If it remains unmanaged it can lead to conditions such as anxiety and depression, with symptoms of insomnia, muscular aches and pains, headaches, hair loss, digestive issues, and loss of sexual desire, to name just a few. Our community has experienced an increase in stress and anxiety due to the Covid pandemic. We encourage you to move forward with resources of support that you and your loved ones may need. In addition, Kendra Fried, our Temple’s Mindful Movement instructor, has created some short, gentle, and accessible videos, in order support your mental, physical, and spiritual wellness. 

Click here for Mood Balancing - Approximately 30 minute video to cultivate and/or maintain balance in mind and body, and support overall wellbeing.

Click here for Mind-Body Practice for Depression - 23 minute video to support relief from low mood/energy and depression.

Click here for Mind-Body Practice for Anxiety - Approximately 20 minutes of techniques to reduce anxiety/panic, and symptoms of chronic stress.

Kendra’s weekly Yoga videos can be found at
https://temple-isaiah.org/education/neshamah-yoga/
Scroll to the bottom of YouTube for the most recent videos and subscribe to receive notifications for each new video.

News Articles

Here is a wonderful article about resilience from member and retired psychiatrist Hugh Winig
https://olli.berkeley.edu/blog/retired-psychiatrist-reflects-resilience

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/04/opinion/covid-brain-mental-health.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/opinion/2020-covid-mental-health.html

https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a34023582/eating-disorder-support-dont-say/?fbclid=IwAR3E20CHNGsNU_bhpahpRkyHbXlGjKNR3ggTPiOZGcF5FF9y2IAtJyoFhqY

For the Holidays, The Gift of Self Care
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/10/well/mind/self-care-buddhism-monk-meditation-stress-anxiety-calm-Haemin-Sunim.html?referringSource=articleShare