BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

Dream Court For Teens To Utilize During Therapy Sessions

At the beginning of the Fiscal Year, August 2021, clients, clinicians, and community members alike gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony of Jewish Family Service of Dallas's new Dream Court, generously donated by Nancy Lieberman Charities and the David family. This court has served as a safe place and therapeutic option for pre-teens and teens to utilize during counseling sessions at Jewish Family Service. Through play therapy, children learn to communicate with others, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills, and learn a variety of ways of relating to others.

Elizabeth started treatment related to panic attacks connected to some serious and sudden health issues. During treatment she also disclosed chronic feelings of hopelessness, past family violence, and current marital issues. She was connected to individual counseling, a Dialectical Behavior Group (DBT) group, and couples counseling. She actively engaged in treatment and the wrap around services over the last year. Elizabeth now reports having no panic attacks in several months and has come to a point of empowerment as a survivor of family violence. She is continuing to engage with couples counseling and is working on her chronic depression. She has shared that JFS has helped her to manage her stress and panic attacks in a healthy way and communicate her feelings better with her partner.

By The Numbers

1,153 individual counseling clients (child, adolescent and adult)

1,275 individuals attended at least one support group

627 family violence intervention clients developed a safety plan

Revamping The Clinical Internship Program

The Clinical Internship Program is designed to improve Masters or PhD students' professional skills by providing direct and indirect client services, attending additional in-house training, and working under close supervision of a licensed mental health practitioner. Students have the opportunity to work with diverse populations as well as a variety of clinical concerns. Our clinical team is proud to mentor and train new clinicians as they prepare to enter the counseling field. Since re-vamping the program, interns have allowed us to provide services to 70 additional clients.

To attract some of the best candidates, we have partnered with Chicago School of Professional Psychology, SMU, and UTA over the last year. We are looking forward to continuing our partnerships and growth of the program with interns from UNT, Colorado Christian University, and Springfield College as well.

To learn more or inquire about becoming a clinical intern in the future, email Sally Neeley, LCSW-S, Clinical Administrator at sneeley@jfsdallas.org.

Trainings Held In The Community

As a response to the Beth Israel hostage case Yaffa Podbilewicz-Weinberg, Ph.D. and Leah Heiman, LMSW hosted a community-wide webinar on ‘Stress or Trauma: Building Resilience’. 69 participants learned how to build resilience after a traumatic event, gain tools to better manage stress, better prepare for challenging times, identify the signs and symptoms of stress & trauma, know when to seek help, and access resources and referrals.

In addition, Ariela Goldstein, LCSW, Senior Director, Clinical Services Emeritus and Terah Culp, LPC, provided presentations on ‘How to Prevent and Treat Sexual Abuse’ and about ‘Trauma and How The Body Keeps the Score’ and more. For questions regarding hosting future trainings, email Sally Neeley, LCSW-S, Clinical Administrator at sneeley@jfsdallas.org.