Jewish Trauma & Mental Health, Part 3:
Dr. Jeff Lichtman and Laura Kessler Discuss How to Counter the Relentless Assault on Jewish Student Identity
In Part III of our Jewish Trauma & Mental Health series, Dr. Jeff Lichtman discusses the mental health of Jewish students on campus, the relentless assault on their Jewish identity, and how we can prevent being overwhelmed from constant negativity by focusing on a few things we can control, instead of all the things we cannot.
We discuss the specific ways students have been affected by increased global antisemitism after 10/7 and how the community can work together to support them.
Please share this with the students and young adults in your life, and the people who love them.
Dr. Jeff Lichtman is the Director of Jewish Education/Special Education at Touro’s Graduate School of Education. He also serves as Director of Student Mental Health Services for Touro University. Jeff is a member of the NJ dept of Education Non-Public School Advisory Commission, Past President and Strategic Planning Committee of Kushner Hebrew Academy.
A psychologist with many years of experience in a variety of settings, Jeff has Masters’ degrees in school psychology and education from St. John’s University and NYU. He received his Undergraduate and Rabbinical training from Yeshiva University, where he completed his doctorate as well. His areas of expertise include counseling, social skills development, teacher training, & leadership development.
Dr. Lichtman has been a classroom teacher, school psychologist, and principal. He founded the Rambam Yeshiva Day School in Baltimore and the Ivdu Special Needs Yeshiva in New York. As Director Emeritus of Yachad (The National Jewish Council for Disabilities), Jeff is well-known for his more than 30 years of visionary leadership, where he grew Yachad into a world-wide force for Inclusion and innovative programs serving children and adults with disabilities.