OU Women’s Initiative

Foundations of Community Mental Health Support

You’re often the first call — the steady presence, the listener, the connector.
This fellowship offers practical tools, clear boundaries, and a warm peer community
so you can support others responsibly, without carrying it alone.

Skills-forward • Not diagnostic
Guided reflection + journaling
Facilitated peer conversation
Fellowship cohort experience

For rebbetzins, kallah teachers, chinuch and kiruv professionals — now including expanded cohorts for
kallah teachers and 12th-grade seminary advisors.

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Why this fellowship now

Communal and support roles have grown more complex. This fellowship helps you notice concern patterns,
respond with clarity, and refer appropriately — while maintaining healthy boundaries and a sustainable role.

Recognition + response

Know what you’re seeing

  • Practical frameworks for what to notice
  • Language for supportive, responsible response
  • How to stay steady when urgency is present
Referral with confidence

Connect people to help

  • How to introduce support with dignity
  • What to say (and what not to say)
  • Healthy follow-through after referral
Peer community

Don’t do this alone

  • A cohort of women who “get it”
  • Guided reflection built into sessions
  • Structured peer conversation and support

Who this is for

Women in roles where people turn to you

If you’re supporting others through listening, guidance, education, or communal responsibility —
and you want to do it wisely, responsibly, and sustainably — you belong here.

Expanded cohorts for 2026:

  • Kallah teachers
  • 12th-grade seminary advisors / guidance professionals
Topics

What you’ll learn (high-level)

1

The support role: scope & boundaries

Clarify your role, your limits, and sustainable support.

2

Recognizing red flags

Frameworks for noticing concern patterns without diagnosing.

3

Common presentations (I)

Anxiety, depression, OCD — what they can look like and how to respond.

4

Common presentations (II)

Scenarios + response language for real life moments.

5

Family systems & dynamics

How context shapes what you’re seeing and what support can look like.

6

Adolescents & mental health

Guidance and referral considerations when teens are involved.

7

Listening & referral skills

Introduce help with dignity and increase follow-through.

8

After the referral

Boundaries, follow-up, and what to do if things don’t go smoothly.

Schedule

8 sessions (Wednesdays) plus a summer in-person seminar experience.
Add the exact dates below when ready.

Session dates
  • Session 1: [Date]
  • Session 2: [Date]
  • Session 3: [Date]
  • Session 4: [Date]
  • Session 5: [Date]
  • Session 6: [Date]
  • Session 7: [Date]
  • Session 8: [Date]
In-person seminar

Summer Seminar Experience

A deeper dive and time to strengthen the fellowship community in person.

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Join a cohort that feels like a deep breath

If you’re often supporting others — and want tools, boundaries, and a peer circle that understands —
we’d love to have you apply.

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