Audio + Video

Beyond the Silence

An evening of storytelling, insights, and community, hosted by BeWell ATL, in partnership with the Blue Dove Foundation. Community Leaders will #QuietTheSilence by sharing their journeys through grief, mental health crises, and healing, offering hard-earned wisdom and hope.

Articles

Coping with Grief and Trauma Following October 7 and Recent Events in Israel, Gaza and the United States

By Ruth Weinberg, LPC | There is no one Jewish experience or perspective. Clients expressed a huge range of feelings, reactions, opinions and political beliefs. This has been an unbelievable time in our world. My heart goes out to all living beings struggling with the terror and violence they have lived, witnessed or been exposed to. In addition, I empathize with all those who have endured hateful and painful experiences as they try to cope with these events. Though sadly there is no easy fix for our pain, this article offers strategies for coping with grief and trauma arising from the recent violence in the Middle East and the reverberating antisemitism that has followed.

Articles

6 Tips for Supporting a Grieving Loved One | By The Jewish Board

When a loved one experiences loss, knowing how to support them can be difficult. Amidst this uncertainty, however, one thing remains clear: the need for genuine empathy and understanding.

Suggested Readings

Taking Care of Our Kids by Taking Care of Ourselves: Mental Health for New Parents

One of the most difficult things for us as we worked through our struggles was the glorification of the sacrifices that caregivers (especially those who identify as women) are expected to make. For instance, loss of interest in activities we previously enjoyed was a difficult benchmark to wrap our heads around. We'd been told that once we gave birth, we wouldn't have time for anything other than the baby. Therefore, losing interest in our hobbies was something we both figured was to be expected. In a way, if we lost interest in our hobbies, wasn't that an indication that we were adjusting to centering our lives around our children? Wasn't that what was supposed to happen?

Articles

Depression Among Tweens

Written in Partnership with In the City Camps | Even before the pandemic that changed the world (especially for kids, tweens and teens), depression among tweens was on the rise. The suicide rate among people ages 10 to 14 tripled between 2007 and 2017, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). And according to U.S. News and World Report, tweens are experiencing major depression nearly 50 percent more often nowadays, which dramatically increases their risk of suicide. So what can parents do to determine whether their tween is having an emotional crisis?

Articles

Tweens, Teens, and Mental Health with In the City Camps

The Blue Dove Foundation recently partnered with In the City Camps, to talk about important issues related to raising mentally healthy children, and fostering mental wellness within our children. We hope you find them as helpful and impactful as we do.

Suggested Readings

Death and Sorting

By Rabbi Sandra Cohen | After the death of her father-in-law, Rabbi Sandra reflects on grief is funny. "Just when you think you have a handle on your feelings and on the physical energy around mourning, it creeps up on you from behind and nails you to the wall."

Downloads

Love Your Tree – Tu B’Shvat and Body Positivity

The month of February is set aside as Eating Disorders and Body Image Awareness Month. It is a time when we call attention to people who are struggling with all kinds of eating and body image-related challenges and a time to celebrate people of all shapes and forms. Tu B’Shvat and body positivity are surprisingly related within Jewish tradition.

Articles, Stories of Hope

The Truth about Brown and Me

By Rabbi Sandra Cohen | Forgiving myself is always the hardest part. Inside, I feel I failed. But, if I step back, or I step up on the balcony to see the pattern my life has taken, it is hard to realistically to believe I botched my life. Instead, I want to proclaim the wonders of my college years, the things I learned and the faith I discovered. All of these helped to get me to where I am now, with a life full of blessings.

Articles

You Always Have a Home Here – Parshat Bechukotai

In this sermon, Rabbi Matt Shapiro explores the health benefits of community and the idea of returning home, and how people experiencing mental health concerns need to remember that they can rely on their communities to create a space for them to reside in. And that the members of those communities need to ensure that that is true.