Events
Our Symposiums
and Events
Hineni’s symposiums featuring experts on mental health and wellness aim to explore, understand, and address the mental health challenges that impact our Toco Hills Orthodox Community.
View recordings of past events, register, or sign up to be notified of future speakers.
Credit: Beth Intro Photography
Ongoing Events
To schedule a Mental Health First Aid Training for a group of 8 to 20 people, please email info@hinenimentalhealth.org.
Mental Health Professionals Clinical Roundtable
Clinical Roundtable is a monthly, in-person gathering for mental health professionals. Each session features a structured clinical case presentation followed by collaborative discussion and peer input. Designed as a confidential space for connection and collegial support, the Roundtable fosters meaningful dialogue, resource sharing, and relationship-building among local clinicians, while exploring ways to expand access to mental health care in our community.
Upcoming Events
About the Event
Led by experienced mental health professionals, this program offers adults practical tools to foster open and ongoing dialogue with family members before confronting a crisis. Supportive conversations about mental health and wellness can start with children as young as 10 years of age. Learn to create a safe environment, recognize signs and levels of distress, and take proactive steps toward fostering your child’s mental well-being.
Past Course Participants Say:
"Excellent instructor and materials. So glad this was offered!”
“Tracie was a great listener, validator, and presenter.”
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), an 8-hour certification course (2 hours of online pre-work plus 6 hours in-person), teaches community members how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. The training, meant for non-mental health professionals, provides the skills one needs to reach out and provide initial help and support someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Tracie Bernstein, Founder and Director of Nourishing the Soul (NTS), partners with Hineni as course facilitator. Tracie is a certified Mental Health First Aider and Trainer. She is also the facilitator for Fayette Factor’s Jewish Community Workshop and Online Toolkit for Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Recovery.
Past Public Events
About the Speaker
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), an 8-hour certification course (2 hours of online pre-work plus 6 hours in-person), teaches community members how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. The training, meant for non-mental health professionals, provides the skills one needs to reach out and provide initial help and support someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Tracie Bernstein, Founder and Director of Nourishing the Soul (NTS), partners with Hineni as course facilitator. Tracie is a certified Mental Health First Aider and Trainer. She is also the facilitator for Fayette Factor’s Jewish Community Workshop and Online Toolkit for Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Recovery.
About the Event
Hineni in Harmony was a sold-out evening of music, mindfulness, and connection, featuring singer-songwriter Dov Rosenblatt. A Baltimore native and lifelong musician, Dov co-founded the pioneering Jewish rock band Blue Fringe and later formed Distant Cousins, with music featured in major films, TV shows, and commercials. He has composed original scores for Netflix’s Impostors and multiple DreamWorks Animation series, served as Cantor-in-Residence at Congregation Sherith Israel in Nashville, and leads To Feel Alive, a program that uses communal songwriting as a tool for expression and connection. After a warm introduction by Atlanta psychiatrist Dr. Eric Fier, Dov shared powerful stories from his therapeutic songwriting work with individuals in intensive mental health treatment and young adults with nonverbal autism. His presentation was described as “extremely informative and eye-opening,” and the energy in the room was palpable—especially during a much-anticipated Blue Fringe reunion that brought joy and nostalgia to longtime fans. Attendees called the evening “inspiring, heartwarming, and soulful,” reflecting the truly transformative spirit of the night.
About the Speaker
The National Council for Mental Wellbeing’s Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), an 8-hour certification course (2 hours of online pre-work plus 6 hours in-person), teaches community members how to identify, understand, and respond to signs of mental illness and substance use disorders. The training, meant for non-mental health professionals, provides the skills one needs to reach out and provide initial help and support someone who may be experiencing a mental health crisis. Tracie Bernstein, Founder and Director of Nourishing the Soul (NTS), partners with Hineni as course facilitator. Tracie is a certified Mental Health First Aider and Trainer. She is also the facilitator for Fayette Factor’s Jewish Community Workshop and Online Toolkit for Mental Health, Substance Abuse, and Recovery.
About the Speaker
A customized training for Toco Hills leaders and Security Task Force members led by Chris Cline of Skyland Trail. The session focused on distinguishing mental health crises from security threats, de-escalation techniques, and scenario role-play, equipping participants to respond safely and compassionately.
Video available upon request for Toco Hills Security Task Force Members and Volunteers
About the Speaker
Aliza Bulow is an author, educator and mentor to Jewish women around the world.
Before founding Core she directed Ner LeElef’s North American Women’s Program for 11 years where she coached rebbetzins and provided strategic development for outreach organizations in Canada, the US and Mexico. Mrs. Bulow spoke with a group of women parenting children of all ages with mental illness.
Visit her organization, CORE, to learn more about what she does, how to get involved, and how to support CORE’s initiatives.
About the Speaker
In a Q&A moderated by Hineni Co-Founder Debra Shaffer Seeman, mental health professionals shared valuable insights into the evolving landscape of their mental health practices during an evening of thought-provoking, enriching conversation about mental health in our community. The audience was empowered with practical takeaways to help support friends, family, and themselves.
Parenting Coach Cari Newman helps parents and caregivers learn to understand their children, break through frustration and burn-out, and sustain a positive, proactive approach to parenting, even when it looks nothing like what they imagined. She is a 26-year veteran classroom educator who now works exclusively with parents.
Deborah Fernhoff, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist with Atlanta Center for Psychotherapy. Her areas of expertise include career and life adjustments, PTSD/Traumatic Response, aging, couples, individual, and family therapies.
Dr. Gideon Matzkin is the Medical Director and Counseling Psychiatrist at Recovery DBT. As a psychodynamic psychiatrist, he has helped hundreds of patients and their families struggling with a range of disorders including self harm, chronic suicidality, addiction, mood, anxiety, psychotic and attentional disorders. He believes in harnessing the power of family and interdisciplinary collaboration in order to help his patients reach their potentials.
About the Speaker
“There is no better way to destigmatize mental health within the orthodox Jewish community than to halachasize mental health.”
Rav Yoni Rosensweig is a leading expert on Mental Health and Halacha. He is the Founder of the Ma’aglei Nefesh Center for Mental Health, Community & Halacha, the Rabbi of Netzach Menashe Community in Israel, and a teacher in Midreshet Lindenbaum.
He has authored several books, including the recently published and ground-breaking work on the interplay between Mental Health and Halacha, titled “Nafshi Beshe’elati.” He has semicha from Rav Nachum Rabinovitch and the Chief Rabbinate of Israel and holds degrees in education, history, and philosophy. In this Symposium, Rav Rosensweig discusses the importance of Halacha’s role in the destigmatization surrounding mental health in the orthodox Jewish community.
About the Speaker
Dr. Eric Fier is a board certified psychiatrist, treating children, adolescents, and adults. He is the founder of TherapyWorksATL and has been a valued member of the Toco Hills community for 24 years. In Hineni’s first Symposium on Mental Health, Dr. Fier reviews his top seven (out of ten) tips for mental wellness, shares impactful journeys from his clients and more, all through a Torah observant lens.
Request a Recording
As a safe space in our community, we respect the privacy of those who participate in our events. If you would like to access one of the recordings that aren’t publicly available, please submit your details below and we will be in touch via email to share the recording.
More Symposiums coming soon!
Hineni does not provide medical, legal, or therapeutic advice or services. We provide general information as a service to the community. The information provided is not a recommendation, referral or endorsement of any resource, therapeutic method, or service provider and does not replace the advice of medical, mental health, legal, or educational professionals. Hineni is not responsible for any information or services provided by third parties.