Halacha Headlines

2/7/26 – Shiur 547 – Mental Health Challenges of Boys in Yeshiva & Girls in Seminaries

Feb 6, 2026
Mrs. Debbie Fox, licensed clinical social worker and seminary-support advocate, and Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox, forensic and clinical psychologist, join Dr. Shmuel Harris and Dr. Yaakov Friedman, psychiatrists working with young adults, plus Rabbi Yitzchak Schwartz, halachic adviser on mental-health questions. They explore mental-health risks for students in Israel, gender differences in presentation, when schools should be told, confidentiality challenges, and prevention and school-based supports.
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ADVICE

Create A Clinician-Backed Intake Process

  • Seminaries should build relationships with qualified clinicians and clinicians should vet students' histories, not leave interpretation to untrained staff.
  • Use professional input to decide if an institution can safely care for a student.
ANECDOTE

Preventable Bipolar Tragedy In Yeshiva

  • Dr. Yaakov Friedman described a preventable tragedy where a student with bipolar disorder jumped from a dorm roof during mania.
  • Better communication between family, doctors, and the yeshiva could have averted that death.
ADVICE

Train Staff And Build Clinical Relationships

  • Educate staff yearly on signs of severe illness, addiction, and crisis response and cultivate open lines with clinicians.
  • Reach out early—call a psychiatrist before a crisis, not after symptoms become acute.
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