Ethical Considerations in Treating and Preventing Anxiety and Mood Disorders in Jewish Young Adults During Contentious Times

This workshop seeks to improve ethical prevention and treatment by providing an understanding of, 1) Historical and current trends that have made it increasingly unsafe for Jewish young adults to express their identity; 2) The lack of support that exists in the psychological community; and 3) Potential ways to create a therapeutically safe environment to treat anxiety in this group.

Jewish young adults increasingly report that sharing their identity has become a source of anxiety and fear. This distress grew following the terror attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, with physical assaults on Jewish students on U.S. college campuses increasing 2,500% and violent threats rising 900%.

For many Jewish young adults, their academic institutions have become a source of stress and instability for them. This has lent to anxiety over their surrounding environment and reluctance to openly express aspects of their Jewish identity for fear of social, academic, and personal backlash. 

Learning Objectives

• Participants will be able to identify four specific behaviors that could be perceived as unaccepting or hostile by Jewish youth toward their identity.
• Attendees will be able to recognize three specific ways Jewish youth are at risk of misdiagnosis because of unintentional pathologizing of legitimate fears related toward their identity.
• Participants will be able to identify three strategies to help facilitate a sense of safety and security in the therapeutic space for Jewish youth.