NEFESH International
3805 Ave R
Brooklyn, NY 11234
PHONE: 201-384-0084
FAX: 347-342-3046

Dear ;

Welcome to NEFESH international. Thank you for renewing your membership in the NEFESH Community. The NEFESH community is the largest network, world-wide, for Orthodox mental health professionals. NEFESH is devoted to the promotion, development, and support of Orthodox Jewish professional in the field of mental health, and also helping improve the access of Orthodox Jewish communities to mental health services.

We encourage you to visit our website www.nefesh.org for unlimited access to many membership benefits featuring continued education online trainings and the Job board. You should be aware that NEFESH International offers community members the following:

NEFESH values community member`s engagement and collaboration. You can connect and dialogue with community members via the online directory and the NEFESH Listserv. If you are interested in joining the listserv, please email our Director of Operations, Alice Tusk: Atusk@NEFESHinternational.org. In an effort to maintain a dynamic and vibrant dialogue on our listserv, community members who post on our listserv must adhere to the NEFESH Listerv Guidelines.

For questions, suggestions, or issues you want to raise with the NEFESH Board of Directors, contact them through our SUGGESTION BOX. For grievances or any difficulties you would addressed, we ask that you make use of our OMBUDSPERSON. NEFESH International values your thoughts and feedback.

NEFESH International is a non-profit organization whose mission is twofold:
(1) To provide professional trainings, social networking opportunities, and religious support for Orthodox Jewish mental health professionals
(2) To promote greater awareness of and access to professional mental health services for Orthodox Jewish communities
Therefore, some of our events and programs are intended both for religious leaders, educators, lay leaders, and askonim in addition to licensed mental health professionals.

NEFESH International is an Orthodox Jewish Organization. Within Orthodox Judaism, there is a wide spectrum of cultural and religious affiliations among our community members. Events and conferences are run according to Orthodox standards of Jewish Law, and we attempt to make accommodations are made for all segments of Orthodoxy, including kashrut standards which will meet the needs of the widest possible range of community members, limited sections of seats which are gender segregated, etc.. Our posek is HaRav Dovid Cohen, shlit”a. Any questions over the religious standards of our events or policies are decided by Rabbi Cohen. If your religious needs are not being accommodated by our organization please contact us through our OMBUDSPERSON.

Governance and organizational fiduciary responsibilities for NEFESH International provided by our Executive Committee, and additional leadership responsibilities are carried out by our Board of Directors. All of the members of our Executive Committee and Board of Directors are volunteers. The annual fees paid by NEFESH community members are used for infrastructure costs, and salaries four our administrative staff; our Executive Committee and Board of Directors receive no compensation for their work on behalf of the organization. Also, costs for NEFESH trainings and programs, and events are covered by the fees charged for those events. Therefore, community members in one location are not paying fees to support the programming and trainings offered elsewhere.

Membership in the NEFESH Community is not a license, professional credential, or certification of competency. Individuals who join our community as mental health professionals must maintain a license in good standing and meet all of the requirements of their licensing board. NEFESH does not endorse the competence or verify the credentials of any individual member. NEESH reserves the right to terminate the affiliation of a community member for any reason; this includes but is not limited to falsification of one’s professional credentials, serious allegations of unethical or unprofessional conduct, behavior which interferes with the functioning of our organization, or failure to maintain a current license. Non-professional members of the NEFESH Community may not practice psychotherapy without a license. In the rare event that allegations of unprofessional or unethical conduct are made against a community member, the NEFESH leadership will general refer the individuals making such allegations to the relevant licensing board. Because NEFESH does not assess the competency of community members, NEFESH will not investigate the credibility of allegations. Members removed from the organization will be-refunded for the remaining portion of their annual fees on a pro-rated basis.

If you would like to become part of our organization’s leadership, you should let us know through the SUGGESTION BOX. We will be happy to contact you and let you know about several different committees where there would be opportunities to do work for our organization. Before being nominated to our Board of Directors, community members are typically involved in volunteering for the organization for at least a few years.

We are very happy that you have chosen to become part of our organization. We look forward to getting to know you. We are confident that you will benefit from the religious, professional, and social resources that NEFESH can provide.