Learn practical strategies for maintaining friendships while living with a rare disease or chronic illness. In this LEMS Family Association presentation, psychotherapist Jodi Taub, LCSW, shares professional and personal insights on navigating inconsistent capabilities, communicating changing needs, and fostering meaningful connections through adaptation and boundaries.

Jodi Taub joins the Am Yisrael Thrive podcast to explore the intersection of Jewish identity, resilience, and mental health. Alongside hosts Shayna Netanya and Jennifer Hayes, Jodi provides professional insight into managing collective trauma and finding balance amidst challenging times.

This session will explore how social isolation affects both emotional and physical health for people living with immunodeficiency. You will learn practical ways to build meaningful connections while managing your condition. The session also highlights how peer support and patient advocacy organizations can offer community and valuable resources. You will leave knowing how to develop a simple, personalized plan to help strengthen your social connections and improve your overall well-being.

It was an honor to partner with the Lung Transplant Foundation for an important workshop: Connected Care: Building Strength Through the Caregiver–Patient Relationship. We explored how recipient–caregiver relationships can be sources of both strength and stress. During the session, I shared strategies for recognizing caregiver burnout, navigating complex medical trauma, and building resilience through communication, connection, and community. I was joined by Floyd and Diana Mestes, who shared their powerful story of love, resilience, and the lived experience of navigating a transplant together.

In the months since October 7th, many Jews have faced not only overt antisemitism, but also the quieter ruptures— dismissive comments, lost friendships, and betrayal in places that once felt safe. As a psychotherapist specializing in Jewish mental health, I wrote this piece to explore how we cope, set boundaries, and heal. This is for anyone navigating the grief, the silence, and the complexity of being Jewish in this moment.

In this webinar series from the Association of Jewish Psychologists, Malka Shaw, LCSW, and I explore how identity, culture, and lived experience shape the therapeutic relationship. We address Jewish trauma, countertransference, and how clinicians can stay grounded while navigating complex dynamics with Jewish clients.

I had the pleasure of presenting at the Living with PI: Federal Policy Changes for the PI Community webinar, where I shared a comprehensive look at navigating mental wellness and advocacy. My segment, which begins at the 36:11 mark, covers strategic approaches to social media management and provides actionable steps for cultivating purpose and calm. Throughout the lecture, I delve into clinical coping strategies utilizing CBT, ACT, and DBT frameworks, alongside practical grounding exercises and tools for improving healthcare communication with loved ones. Click the title or image to access the full session and a suite of curated resources.

By CSL Behring featuring Jodi Taub, LCSW, PLLC

Click here to watch the video featuring Jodi.

Key Highlights:

1. Tell your friends how you value them and look for ways to gain more social time

2. Explain or re-explain your limitations and ask friends to meet you on your terms

3. Keep health updates simple and educate them about fluctuating abilities 

4. Let others know how you want to be supported

5. Maintain more than one friendship 

6. Recognize when you need support from a mental health professional

7. Reciprocate support for your friends in ways in which you can

In today's age of constant information overload, it's easy to feel overwhelmed. The intensity of this information, combined with the expectations and opinions of others, can trigger a fight-or-flight response. This heightened state of alertness can lead to overwhelm and overstimulation.

I am thrilled to share mental health guidance about living with rare disease for patients, caregivers and loved ones. Highlights include how the rare disease experience is different. Medical trauma and the difference between other forms of complex and acute trauma. Mental health support for both patients and caregivers. And the importance of prioritizing community support and joy. Hopefully, you will find this discussion both supportive and validating. Feel free to share with loved one to help foster understanding. With gratitude for our rare disease community, Jodi

Many people are struggling with loss, change, and various stressors, lately more than ever. Once you become upset, similar thoughts and common narratives take over. Here are ways to cope.

Young people are more emotionally impacted by COVID-19 due to the pivotal point in life and development.

Covid-19 has brought a lot of unexpected change, and many of us have experienced grief and loss on a variety of different levels this year. So, how do we work through this year, as each of us are experiencing grief in different sorts of ways?

COVID-19 has brought with it many hardships; some anticipated, others unanticipated. One of them has been an increase in the struggle with substance use.