JFCS/East Bay has ongoing support groups on many topics, all designed to address your needs and interests. In addition, we provide periodic workshops series, as well as workshops that can be presented at your workplace, your child's school, or our offices.

Click to view summaries and times:

• Center for Older Adult Services Workshop Series

• Bereavement Support Group
• Boy's Social Skills Group
• Café Europa
• Chaverim
• Coping and Thriving after a Diagnosis of Cancer
• Expressive Art Therapy Group for Women Over 50
• JFCS/EAST BAY SPEAKERS — At Your Site/At Your Request
• Living with Chronic Illness
• Making Relationships Work
• Project Girl
• Shira
• Single Again Support Group
• Single Parents of Teens
• Support Group for Men 65 and Over

STARTING SOON

Please contact Valerie Rosenfield at (510) 704-7480, ext. 299 if you are interested in participating in one of these groups:

• Children of Holocaust Survivors
• Interfaith Couples
• Long-Distance Family Caregivers Support Group
• T'michah

Bereavement Support Group

Fee: no charge for the first three months, $25 per session thereafter

For relatives and friends who have suffered the loss of a loved one. This group offers heartfelt support and guidance with feelings of loneliness, loss and isolation, coping with anger and other unexpected emotions, learning how to live with the grief process and move forward with your life, contending with changing family dynamics, reestablishing connections with your community, facing changes to your financial status, as well as dealing with estate and other financial decisions. Pre-registration required.

(Funded in part by Sinai Memorial Chapel.)

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Boy's Social Skills Group

Fee: $25 per session (sliding scale available; Medi-Cal accepted)

Is social interaction a challenge for your seven- to eleven-year-old boy? Are playdates fraught with conflict, or even nonexistent? This support group will provide a safe and enriching environment in which boys can learn positive communication and effective social skills. Pre-registration required.

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Café Europa

Fee: no charge

Café Europa is a special monthly gathering for Holocaust survivors, their adult family members, and friends. This social and cultural program features social activities, speakers, musical programs, and refreshments.

(Sponsored jointly by Tikvah: the Bay Area Network of Holocaust Survivors and their families, and JFCS/East Bay. Café Europa is funded in part by the Conference of Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, Inc.)

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Chaverim

A social and educational group for Jewish adults with developmental disabilities. Please call for fee, schedule, and location details.

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Coping and Thriving after a Diagnosis of Cancer: A Cancer Survivorship Support Group

Fee: no charge

Whether you or your loved one is just entering or has completed treatment, there are likely new concerns regarding survivorship. Recovery may require a new way of thinking about yourself, celebrating yourself, and relating to others. Come join this group to help prepare for life as a strong survivor.

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Expressive Art Therapy for Women Over 50

Fee: Medicare accepted, or $45 per session

A supportive and relaxed environment for exploring retirement, transitions, and health; expressing the positive aspects of aging; and reflecting on wisdom and gratitude. Group activities include discussion and simple art and writing exercises. Women of all cultures, religions, and sexual orientations welcome. No previous art experience needed. Pre-registration required.

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Living with Chronic Illness

Fee: Medicare accepted, or $30 per session

A group for people managing chronic illness and disability. Get support from others and be a support for them. Ease isolation, and be heard in an accepting environment.

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Making Relationships Work

Fee: $400 per couple (includes one follow-up session)

Through discussion, exercises and group sharing, couples will strengthen and deepen their relationships. Areas of focus include: love and commitment, the art of communication, conflict resolution, sex, careers, division of labor, how to raise children in an interfaith household, and how Jewish life can strengthen your marriage. For Jewish and interfaith couples who are considering marriage, engaged, recently married or in a long-term relationship.

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Project Girl

Fee: $25 per session (sliding scale available; Medi-Cal accepted)

Is your daughter trying to adjust to the social scene at school? Does she seem overly preoccupied with her appearance? Are you concerned about the way the media and popular culture affect your daughter? Many girls in middle school deal with similar issues. Through discussion and hands-on activities, this group creates a safe and inviting environment for your daughter to explore how it feels to be a teen. Pre-registration required.

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Shira

A music and movement group for Jewish children with developmental disabilities. Please call for fee, schedule, and location details.

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Single Again Support Group

Fee: $45 per session; sliding scale available

The loss of an important relationship in your life can be profoundly disorienting and painful, but it can also be an opportunity to redefine yourself and your priorities. Safe, straightforward, and supportive, this group for men and women covers issues such as: loss, grief, and mourning; building support systems; caring yourself and your children; sex, dating, and self-esteem; and moving on . . .

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Single Parents of Teens

Fee: $35 per session

Are you feeling like you're holding it all? Are you feeling shut out by your teen? Is it getting harder to make decisions alone? Want some support? Come join other single parents of teens for a ten-session support group moderated by psychotherapist Rikki Sudikoff, LCSW. Pre-registration required.

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Support Group for Men 65 and Over

Fee: $35 per session (sliding scale available)

Looking Back and Looking Forward. A trusting, confidential, and validating environment for men sixty-five and older to share amongst themselves. This discussion of participants' experiences, past and present, will cover topics such as: family, relationships, health changes, and dealing with loss. Full payment required upon registration.

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STARTING SOON

Children of Holocaust Survivors

A special group for Jews whose parents lived in Nazi Europe, were survivors of camps, were in hiding or became refugees who fled before the war. Participants will share their experiences and legacy of growing up in a survivor family, as well as thoughts and feelings about the Holocaust. Other issues include Jewish identity, and any other topics of interest to the group. Pre-registration required.

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Interfaith Couples Group

This group offers interfaith couples the opportunity to explore shared challenges in a supportive and thought-provoking setting. Topics include: clarifying religious and cultural values, bridging differences, dealing with extended family relationships, raising children, and celebrating holidays.

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Long-Distance Family Caregivers Support Group

For adults caring for older relatives or friends who live outside of this area.

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T'michah: a Spiritual Group for People with Disabilities

A spiritual support group that explores Jewish traditions for coping with disability or chronic illness. For more information, please call (510) 704-7480, ext. 764.

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