Posts from Professionals

Chaim Ancier
Chaim Ancier
Head of Marketing at Refuat Hanefesh
Chaim Ancier, MSW, LICSW graduated from the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Business and then from Wurzweiler’s School of Social Work. He has worked with families and individuals to obtain social services, taught independent living skills, and helped disadvantaged children develop social skills. He has lectured faculty and students on bullying and its long term effects and worked with chronically ill Psychiatric patients at a state hospital and nursing home. Currently, he is a county supervisor for a team of social workers and public health nurses.
Chaim Ancier
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At the forefront of today’s debate-happy society is the question of what constitutes fake news and which culprits are relaying said fake reports. What is generally agreed upon, though, is that fake news can do real damage. One such area where irresponsible reporting has done damage is in the field of mental health.     Mental Illness Read More …

Ariel Mintz, MD
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Ariel Mintz, MD
Dr. Ariel Mintz grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After spending two years learning in Israel, at Derech Eitz Chaim and Shaalivm, he earned his BA in Psychology at Yeshiva Univesity in New York. He went on to obtain his MD at Oakland University William Beaumont School of medicine and trained in adult psychiatry at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and is a practicing psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received awards for his research, academic performance, and service to the Jewish community. He has a supportive and talented wife and three wonderful children. He is very passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and bringing comfort to those who are suffering.
Ariel Mintz, MD
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In this week’s torah portion (Vayakhel-Pekudei) Moshe relays Hashem’s commandment to work six days and rest on the seventh.

Ariel Mintz, MD
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Ariel Mintz, MD
Dr. Ariel Mintz grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After spending two years learning in Israel, at Derech Eitz Chaim and Shaalivm, he earned his BA in Psychology at Yeshiva Univesity in New York. He went on to obtain his MD at Oakland University William Beaumont School of medicine and trained in adult psychiatry at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and is a practicing psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received awards for his research, academic performance, and service to the Jewish community. He has a supportive and talented wife and three wonderful children. He is very passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and bringing comfort to those who are suffering.
Ariel Mintz, MD
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Count Elevate the Jews In this week’s Torah portion (Ki Tisa) Moshe is commanded “Ki tisa et rosh bnei yisrael… (when you count the Jewish people..)”. Generally, words such as timna or tifkod are used to denote counting and the word tisa is more commonly translated as elevate. The Talmud (Bava Basra 10b) explains the Read More …

Ariel Mintz, MD
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Ariel Mintz, MD
Dr. Ariel Mintz grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After spending two years learning in Israel, at Derech Eitz Chaim and Shaalivm, he earned his BA in Psychology at Yeshiva Univesity in New York. He went on to obtain his MD at Oakland University William Beaumont School of medicine and trained in adult psychiatry at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and is a practicing psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received awards for his research, academic performance, and service to the Jewish community. He has a supportive and talented wife and three wonderful children. He is very passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and bringing comfort to those who are suffering.
Ariel Mintz, MD
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Torah lights up the world In this week’s Torah portion (Tetzaveh), God instructs Moshe to command the Jews to bring olive oil that is pure and finely crushed.

Rabbi David Fredman
Rabbi David Fredman
Marriage Advisor at Refuat Hanefesh
Rabbi Dovid Fredman, MFT, M.Ed., is Aish Minnesota’s Executive Director. His engaging teaching style, quick smile and often quirky sense of humor is a combination that is easy to warm up to. An insightful marriage and family therapist, Rabbi Fredman works with couples and individuals who may need help in their personal as well as spiritual life. Rabbi Fredman’s popular weekly column, Less Than 1,000 Words From The Land of 10,000 Lakes has created a buzz among Jews from all spectrums, leaving his readership with new insights about life, relationships, and their Judaism. Rabbi Fredman has a voracious appetite for books on psychology and anything that makes the human “tick”. He has had the unique privilege of studying under some of the most prolific Jewish scholars of our day, including Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky and Rabbi Yitzchak Berkovits.
Rabbi David Fredman
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Happiness. It seems this is the modern buzzword for the ultimate goal in life. Ask parents, “What do you want for your children?” Most will respond, “I just want them to be happy”.

Ariel Mintz, MD
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Ariel Mintz, MD
Dr. Ariel Mintz grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After spending two years learning in Israel, at Derech Eitz Chaim and Shaalivm, he earned his BA in Psychology at Yeshiva Univesity in New York. He went on to obtain his MD at Oakland University William Beaumont School of medicine and trained in adult psychiatry at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and is a practicing psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received awards for his research, academic performance, and service to the Jewish community. He has a supportive and talented wife and three wonderful children. He is very passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and bringing comfort to those who are suffering.
Ariel Mintz, MD
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Take me a gift In this week’s Torah portion (Terumah) God commands, “…And they should take to me a gift, whoever’s heart inspires him…”(25:2) Logically, we should have been commanded to give a gift, not take a gift. One explanation for this word choice is that by contributing to the Tabernacle we are receiving something Read More …

Andrew Waters
Andrew Waters
Addiction Advisor at Refuat Hanefesh
Andrew Waters is a native of Toronto and currently resides with his wife and two children in St. Louis Park, Minnesota. He is a licensed addiction counselor working at the world-renowned Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation: Addiction Treatment Center with adolescents and young adults. As a graduate of the Hazelden Graduate School of Addiction Studies, Andrew is passionate about sharing his knowledge and helping people understand the science of addiction. He looks forward to using his skills to help people on the journey to recovery.
Andrew Waters
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Many people have questions about how to assist a person suffering from addiction. There are many different treatment options to consider, and the appropriate level of care for an addict depends on the severity of their illness. If someone wishes to get professional help, the first step is to be assessed for a substance Use Read More …

Ariel Mintz, MD
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Ariel Mintz, MD
Dr. Ariel Mintz grew up in Minneapolis, Minnesota. After spending two years learning in Israel, at Derech Eitz Chaim and Shaalivm, he earned his BA in Psychology at Yeshiva Univesity in New York. He went on to obtain his MD at Oakland University William Beaumont School of medicine and trained in adult psychiatry at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis. He completed a Child and Adolescent Psychiatry fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic and is a practicing psychiatrist in Cleveland, Ohio. He has received awards for his research, academic performance, and service to the Jewish community. He has a supportive and talented wife and three wonderful children. He is very passionate about destigmatizing mental illness and bringing comfort to those who are suffering.
Ariel Mintz, MD
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In this week’s Torah portion (Mishpatim), Moshe is commanded: “And these are the laws you should place before them”. The Talmud (Eiruvin 54b) derives from the words “place before them” that the commandments and their details should be laid out like a set table with everything ready to be eaten.

Tina Kahn
Tina Kahn
Tina is a NYS Licensed Mental Health Counselor and NYS Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist with 25+ years of experience working with individuals, couples, and groups.
Tina Kahn
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Stepfamilies are not uncommon. They sometimes work out well, but at other times can be disastrous. Whether Stepfamilies are created after a parental death or divorce, the ingredients for a successful experience are basically the same.