Month: January 2020

Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman
Etan Neiman, CPA, is Refuat Hanefesh's Director of Operations and was previously Editor-in-Chief. He grew up in Chicago, Illinois and graduated Summa Cum Laude from Yeshiva University's Sy Syms School of Business. While at Yeshiva, Etan was editor of the student newspaper's Business Section and President of Active Minds, a national organization committed to decreasing mental illness stigma on college campuses. He currently works in downtown Manhattan as a Senior Accounting Associate for Brand Sonnenschine. Etan has spoken and written extensively about how he moved past his mental health battles with Generalized Anxiety, Social Anxiety, and Depression. He looks forward to joining others on a similar journey to break the harmful stigma-induced silence. Etan can be reached at alexbneiman@refuathanefesh.org.
Etan Neiman
Latest posts by Etan Neiman (see all)

It deeply hurts. Time and time after time again, politicians, newscasters and everyday people associate violence with mental illness. This is both degrading and harmful. It perpetuates the stigmatic myth that those with mental illnesses are to be feared. For those like me, who have moved to manage mental illness to the point where it Read More …

Suzann Lasson, OTR/L
Suzann Lasson, OTR/L
Suzann is an occupational therapist who works on the behavioral health units at Levindale Hebrew Geriatric Hospital of Baltimore, MD. She has a clinical specialty in psychiatric occupational therapy and has worked as an occupational therapist for twenty years, with clinical experience in acute psychiatric units, inpatient psychiatric units, outpatient partial hospitalization programs, and inpatient rehabilitation. At Levindale, she works primarily with patients with mental illness, running daily psychosocial groups (including coping skills, stress management, assertiveness skills, safety/fall prevention, anger management, depression management, anxiety management, and how to speak about mental illness).
Suzann Lasson, OTR/L
Latest posts by Suzann Lasson, OTR/L (see all)

I started working in an acute psychiatric unit fifteen years ago as an occupational therapist (OT), during which time the experiences I have had with those in the Jewish community and their petrified need for secrecy have been alarming. More on that crisis in a little bit. First, for context, occupational therapy became prevalent in Read More …