May 19, 2006 -- More than 60 people from 25 Israeli yeshivot and midrashot attended the final Mental Health Seminar of the year hosted by the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program in May. Psychiatrist and lecturer Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski discussed "Socio-Halakhic Challenges of the Year in Israel," focusing on gambling, Internet pornography and general male/female relationships, among other issues. “It was a successful conclusion to the yearlong series,” said Mark Lehrman, director of the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program. Mr. Lehrman said his team has already begun to plan next year’s sessions. Administrators from the many yeshivot and midrashot that enroll students on the S. Daniel Abraham Israel Program were extremely positive about the sessions. “I learned that we do not always have solutions –– especially when we are very concerned about how certain behaviors will affect other students,” said Yehudit Spero of Midreshet Moriah, who appreciated the frank discussion about difficult issues. During a session last fall for rabbis and yeshiva administrators on the YU Israel Campus, Dr. Vic Schwartz, the new dean of students of Yeshiva College, focused on how schools can prepare for various emergencies, as well as understanding how to recognize and respond to such problems as depression. In an interview, Dr. Schwartz said that students in Israel experience the same problems seen in the general college student population, such as depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. “Separation and homesickness in many cases add to the anxiety and depression that students may feel,” Dr. Schwartz said. Dr. Schwartz noted that students in Israel programs have the advantage of being in smaller schools and are part of a cohesive community. Studies have indicated that volunteerism, often found to a high degree in religious communities, help lower the rate of substance abuse. But he cautioned that schools have to use their advantages to identify the problems, and he explained that they need to have a “well thought-out and communicated set of policies” to determine when outside experts and parents are consulted. Administrators at the affiliated yeshivot have expressed enthusiasm about the sessions. “The interest is definitely there for programs such as these,” Lehrman said. “The sessions are serving as a catalyst for discussions and programs in the individual yeshivot.” Dr. David Pelcovitz, Gwendolyn & Joseph Straus Chair in Jewish Education at Yeshiva University's Azrieli Graduate School of Jewish Education and Administration, delivered two programs as part of the series. The first, “Dealing with Loss,” helped yeshiva administrators find ways to help students with illness, death and divorce in their families back home. While these are issues that college students in the U.S. face, “to be 6,000 miles away adds another layer of worry on it,” Dr. Pelcovitz said. The second session explored “adolescents having difficulties regulating their mood, self-concept, depression, cutting, and obsessive-compulsive disorder,” said Dr. Pelcovitz, who also teaches courses in pastoral psychology at the university’s affiliated Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and serves as Special Assistant to the President of Yeshiva University.