Your First Step: New Client Intake Call Hours
Call us during New Client Intake Call Hours to speak with our team. We’ll ask you brief questions to understand your needs and guide you to the right services and referrals. Please note: This is not a therapy or case management session — just a helpful first step. If the line is busy, leave your full name and phone number for a return call during New Client Intake Call Hours.
Call (512) 735-8024
New Client Intake Call Hours:
- Mondays: 12:00 PM – 2:30 PM
- Tuesdays: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
- Wednesdays: 10:00 AM – 12:30 PM
- Thursdays: 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
New Client Intake Call Hours are not held on Shalom Austin holidays. For a full list of holiday closures, visit https://shalomaustin.org/hours.
OFFERING SUPPORT
Shalom Austin Jewish Family Service provides one-on-one counseling with a therapist as well as support groups for those who want to connect with others sharing similar experiences. JFS serves people regardless of race, religion, disability, gender or sexual orientation.
ONE-ON-ONE COUNSELING
We provide a safe and supportive environment with licensed therapists to assist adults, adolescents, children, couples, and families to improve their overall mental health and well-being.
Jewish Family Service now offers our confidential and compassionate mental health services through telehealth platforms. Our highly skilled therapists offer video therapy and counseling, either on a sliding fee scale or through eligible insurance.
JFS accepts the following insurance coverage for counseling services: Medicare, Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, Humana, Aetna, United Healthcare, Magellan, and Cigna.
Contact JFS for more information about our sliding scale:
(512) 250-1043 | [email protected]
ACTIVE SUPPORT & DISCUSSION GROUPS
JFS Grief Circle
Grief is something that we are always experiencing, whether we are aware of it or not. That grief might follow a death of someone close to us, news of devastating world events or natural disasters, or worry about family not supporting your identity or beliefs, as well as the loss of a job, relationship, or other big life changes. We invite you to join JFS clinicians Maura Kinney, LCSW and Audrey Burnett, LCSW for a Grief Circle where you can connect with others experiencing grief, learn about the impacts on our bodies and minds, and gain tools for coping with the inevitable grief that being a human brings.
The next Grief Circle is on May 14 from 7-8:15 PM. To register click here. For questions, contact [email protected]
Jewish Meditation
with Rabbi Cohen
Join Rabbi Amy Cohen for a weekly Jewish meditation session.
Together we will slow down and focus on our breath and we will sit in silence for half of our session. Each week we will connect with one another and find inspiration from Jewish wisdom for our shared practice.
Mondays 11AM-11:45AM
Register here.
Memory Loss Caregiver Circle
NAVIGATE this journey with others who understand
This group meets in-person every other Thursday from 12:30-2PM
Currently, Jewish Family Service is offering this group at no cost.
Contact Liron for more information and to register:
(512) 735-8118 | [email protected]
Calm & Connection
Learn the tools to get out of the anxiety trap
Many of us suffer anxiety in one form or another.
In this in-person group, we consider new ways to understand anxiety and tools to manage it. Group members also lean on each other for support with the day-to-day challenges of their lives.
– Share what’s on your mind
– Meet others who get it
– Learn anxiety management
Bi-Weekly on Mondays 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM | Dell JCC
Contact Matt for information and to register:
(512) 735-8020 | [email protected]
Family Caregiver Empowerment Circle
You are not alone. This group is a safe place for family members caring for adult loved ones to discuss the stresses, challenges, and rewards of caregiving.
- Connect with other caregivers
- Learn about community resources
- Talk through issues and ways of coping
Group meets biweekly on Tuesdays from 12:30 – 2PM | Free
For more information and to register, contact:
(512) 735-8120| [email protected]
Wellness with a Disability
Approximately one in five Americans has a disability. This group provides a safe, confidential, and supportive space for adult members of the Austin Jewish community who have a disability: mental, physical, emotional, or other. The group members discuss issues related to their own disabilities and broader disability concerns, and to offer support and ways to cope with aspects of life. While group is a place to find community, it is also a place to develop deeper connections with others, accept and receive support, increase interpersonal communication skills, build self-awareness, and increase sense of self.
Bi-Weekly on Friday | 2:00PM – 3:30PM | Ongoing | Free of Charge | Online
Contact Amanda Mills for more information and to register:
512-735-8127 | [email protected]
I am able:
Empowerment Group
This group builds a community to remove the stigma and misconceptions about autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and other invisible learning disabilities. This hangout and discussion group offers a chance to check in and socialize with like-minded friends. Discussion topics may include stigma or challenges in the workplace, building confidence, increasing personal accountability, and celebrating invisible differences.
The fourth Thursday of each month | 5:30 PM – 7 PM | Ongoing |
Free of Charge | In-Person at Dell JCC Campus
Register here, and contact Whitney Emmons for more information:
(512) 735-8081 or [email protected].
Mussar
with Rabbi Amy B. Cohen
Mussar is a Jewish spiritual tradition focused on ethical self-improvement and character development using ancient texts and practices to cultivate inner virtues, in hebrew middot, like humility, patience, and generosity. The study and practice of mussar helps individuals overcome internal obstacles to live more holy lives. Practicing mussar involves studying Jewish texts and applying spiritual exercises, like focusing on a specific trait or meditating on ethical concepts, to transform oneself from within. In this class, journalling prompts will be assigned and chevruta study (studying with a partner) will be encouraged.
Class Schedule:
-February 12 & 26
-March 12 & 26
-April 9 & 23
-May 7 & 21
-June 4 & 18
Rabbi Amy B. Cohen has completed the Manchim level certification, the most advanced certification for Mussar facilitators.
Register here.
Season of Mussar
with Rabbi Amy B. Cohen
Join Rabbi Amy B. Cohen to learn about how studying and practicing Mussar can change your life and relationships. A monthly drop-in study session on a different Middah (character trait) each month. This group is open to individuals who have studied Mussar previously or those interested in experiencing Mussar study for the first time. Rabbi Cohen creates in an informal and inviting environment, combining music, meditation and text study.
For more details and to register, please click here.
Memory Cafe
Early-stage Memory Loss Support Group
Memory Café is a welcoming & supportive space for older adults living with changes in thinking or memory, such as Mild Cognitive Impairment or Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias. In partnership with AGE of Central Texas, the program offers cognitively stimulating activities, support group discussions, and tools to help navigate daily life- all designed to foster connection and purpose.
This group meets the 1st & 3rd Tuesdays monthly from 10-11:30 a.m.
To learn more or register to attend, contact [email protected].
Wise Aging
There is no set of instructions for getting older, join Rabbi Cohen as we open up conversations about what it means not just to get older but to age wisely. Based on the book Wise Aging, written by Rabbi Rachel Cowan, of blessed memory, and Dr. Linda Thal, both pioneers in transforming Jewish communal life to include spirituality and spiritual development, the book is grounded in Jewish mindfulness and spiritual practices. Wise Aging provides a road-map for the journey we are all on. Together we will explore a wide range of issues including relationships with adult children and spouses; body image; romance and sexuality; living with loss; and cultivating well-being. Wise Aging and is especially relevant for individuals 55 and better, but this group is open to all!
Registration is closed, and this program currently has a waitlist. To be notified when registration opens, contact [email protected].
We Want to Hear From You
GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE NOTICE
You have the right to receive a ‘Good Faith Estimate’ explaining how much your therapy may cost.
Under the law, health care providers need to give patients who do not have insurance, or who are not using insurance, a cost estimate of the bill for medical items and services.
- You have the right to receive a ‘Good Faith Estimate’ for the total expected cost of any non-emergency items or services. This includes related costs like medical tests, drugs, equipment, and hospital fees.
- Your health care provider must give you a ‘Good Faith Estimate’ in writing for scheduled services within designated timeframes. You can also ask your health care provider for a ‘Good Faith Estimate’ before you schedule an item or service.
- If you receive a bill that is at least $400 more than your ‘Good Faith Estimate’, you can dispute the bill.
- Make sure to save a copy or picture of your Good Faith Estimate.
For questions or more information about your rights to a Good Faith Estimate, visit www.cms.gov/nosurprises.
TEXAS PUBLIC COMPLAINT NOTICE
The Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council investigates and prosecutes professional misconduct committed by marriage and family therapists, professional counselors, psychologists, psychological associates, social workers, and licensed specialists in school psychology.
Although not every complaint against or dispute with a licensee involves professional misconduct, the Executive Council will provide you with information about how to file a complaint. Please call 1-800-821-3205 for more information.
For assistance please contact: Texas Behavioral Health Executive Council
HEALTH CARE RECORDS REQUEST
TERMS OF USE FOR CLIENT PORTAL
Please note we are not a 24/7 crisis center. If you have a mental health emergency, please call 512-472-4357 [HELP].
CONTACT US
7300 HART LANE
AUSTIN, TEXAS 78731
(512) 735-8000
Follow Us:
HEALTH & WELLNESS
Fitness
Swimming
Tennis & Pickleball
Sports
EDUCATION
Jewish Culture & Education
Early Childhood Program Preschool
After School & Childcare
Camps
ARTS & CULTURE
Literary Arts
Visual Arts
Theatre & Film
Dance
COUNSELING & SUPPORT
Jewish Family Service
Counseling & Groups
Case Management
References & Resources
Disability & Inclusion
Copyright Shalom Austin 2025. Privacy Policy.