As we continue to struggle with and persevere in a world marked by COVID-19, Leanne Matlow will lead a conversation about our shared sense of loss and how we can strengthen ourselves, each other and our world as we enter the new year.
 

Leanne Matlow, a Beth Tzedec member, is a cognitive behavioural therapy counsellor with a private practice specializing in anxiety for children and adolescents. She is trained as a teacher and guidance counsellor, with a Masters degree from Toronto’s Institute of Child Study, OISE and certificates in CBT from the Beck Institute in Philadelphia.
 

Having seen the prevalence of anxiety issues in the classroom setting, and their regular misdiagnosis as academic concerns, Leanne has become a mental health advocate who speaks regularly about anxiety in the classroom to parent and teacher groups. Together with the Koschitzky Centre for Jewish Education at UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, she founded and organizes the annual Mental Health Empowerment Day symposium to increase the understanding of parents and those who work with children and youth in our community settings (including schools, camps, youth groups and travel experiences) regarding mental health issues.