Adir Academy will be the nation’s first Jewish therapeutic day school in U.S. for students with mental health challenges
Therapeutic schools are highly effective at serving students with significant mental health needs, such as anxiety, depression, OCD, emotional dysregulation, and/or a history of suicidal ideation or self-injurious behaviors.
For a family already struggling with the pain and fear that comes with helping their child through a mental health crisis, the lack of a Jewish educational option for their child compounds the family’s suffering. For the child, the message that the Jewish community has no place for them can be devastating and have lifelong impacts.
Watch the video below to learn how Adir Academy, a Jewish therapeutic high school in New York City, will help these children and their families.
Dr. Rebecca Eliason
Associate Dean, Therapeutic Schools of SINAI and Co-Founder, Adir Academy
Dr. Eliason served as Head of School and Director of Psychological Services at Barnstable Academy – a college prep school that provides academic excellence in a warm and supportive environment designed to help students thrive.
“Dr. Eliason revamped our school culture, counseling, student support services, executive functioning programming, parent involvement, and ultimately, nearly doubled our enrollment,” said Mrs. Ashley Crowley, Head of School, Barnstable Academy. “She stands for excellence as a leader and her intelligent and genuinely caring approach comes through, always. She gave her whole heart to Barnstable and supported our sister Fusion schools through her work with both local campus administrators and nationwide high-level training to further enhance Fusion’s individualized approach. I am thankful for her collaboration, expertise, and guidance.”
Her success at Barnstable Academy made her a sought-after consultant and presenter. She has conducted school leadership trainings and practical staff development for secular and Jewish day schools.
In her private practice, Dr. Eliason is widely recognized for her success in developing creative approaches and plans for students who are struggling with mental health challenges. She helps students and their families create out-of-the-box approaches to help students succeed in their current schools, helps them find alternatives when the current environment cannot meet their needs, and supports students through the transition to and from specialized programs, such as therapeutic schools.
Dr. Eliason is the founder and president of the board of Kfar Shelanu (Kfar), a nonprofit Jewish after-school program for children who are not currently in yeshiva day schools. She is also working with Kinyan on their Master Teacher Skills Assessment, which is focused on developing classroom management skills and strategies to increase student success in mainstream classrooms.
Dr. Eliason worked at NYU Langone Child Study Center’s Summer Program for Kids (SPK), an all-day therapeutic summer program for kids with ADHD and behavioral disorders, and served as a research assistant at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
Dr. Eliason is a member of the Bergen County High School Admissions Committee and a member of the board of TABC. She previously served on the board of Yeshivat Noam.
She earned her Psy.D. and M.S. degrees from St. John’s University where she was a research fellow, and her B.A. from Yeshiva University, Stern College for Women.
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