Resources | Binyan Shaleim

Dr. Michael Bunzel

Psychiatrist

A native of California, Dr. Michael Bunzel earned a bachelor’s degree (Phi Beta Kappa) at Stanford University in Palo Alto and completed his pre-med studies at University of Pennsylvania. After years of yeshiva studies, he earned an MD degree at Tel Aviv University and trained for an adult psychiatric specialty at the famed Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore. He later became a specialist in child and adolescent psychiatry at the Schneider Children’s Hospital in Israel.
In 2002, Dr. Bunzel founded the department of psychiatry at Mayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak and became medical director of its out-patient mental health center, which serves both children and adults. Under his outstanding leadership, and with the partnership of Dr. Moshe Rotschild, z’l, and the backing of many Gedolei Yisrael, the center has blossomed into a seven story, state-of-the-art psychiatric facility, serving all segments of the population. This ground-breaking clinic has literally saved lives and improved the quality of life for thousands.
One of Israel’s most preeminent psychiatrists, Dr. Bunzel has worked to destigmatize mental illness in the Orthodox Jewish community. His regular consultation with Gedolei Yisrael ensures that his model of care, which employs the most up-to-date modalities to address exceedingly complex cases, is always consistent with Torah-true hashkafa.

Brochi Stauber

Registered Dietician Nutritionist (RDN)

Brochi Stauber, registered dietician nutritionist, earned a Bachelor’s of Science Nutrition and Dietetics at Rutgers University and completed her dietetic internship at Jersey Shore University Medical Center. After working as a dietician in LTC and rehabilitation, Brochi opened a private practice in Lakewood, New Jersey, where she focuses on helping women, children and teens make healthy eating a lifestyle reality. Combining clinical nutritional knowledge with an understanding of eating patterns and behaviors, Brochi empowers clients to sustain healthy habits that benefit both mind and body.
Her specialties include metabolic and hormonal disease, mental health, eating disorders, pediatrics and disordered eating behaviors. Brochi is the author of the popular “Nutrition for Life” series for parents, which integrates the psychosocial stages of development with the formation of healthy eating habits from birth through adolescence. Brochi joins Binyan Shaleim with the goal of providing better care to her clients in the context of a collaborative treatment team.

Elysse Lerner

Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP-BC)

Elysse Lerner, family nurse practitioner, graduated from Rutgers University in 2015. She went on to graduate from Jersey City University Nursing School in 2011 and has spent the past 10 years working in adult and pediatric primary care. She is certified as a clinical case manager with a subspecialty as a board certified wound specialist. In her work, Elysse strives to identify the root cause of a patient’s concerns, focusing on the whole person rather than on individual symptoms and taking the time to truly understand each patient’s personal needs. As a volunteer preceptor, Elysse has taught assessment and diagnostic skills to many students in various universities across the region.
In her role as primary care coordinator, Elysse follows her patients throughout their treatment, helping them coordinate with specialists when necessary and tracking their progress in the primary care central hub.

Tzivya Kownat

Advanced Practice Nurse (APN)

Tzivya Kownat is a board-certified psychiatric-mental health nurse practitioner and holds a license in the State of New Jersey as an advanced practice nurse (APN). She graduated from New York University with a Master’s of Science in nursing in 2011. She also has a Bachelor of Arts in psychology from Thomas Edison State College. She has many years of experience as a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and has worked in psychiatric and outpatient mental health settings. Her specialties include depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, OCD, and PTSD.

Ashira Lasdun

Family Nurse Practitioner (FNP, APN, MSN)

Ashira is a skilled family nurse practitioner with experience in both internal and psychiatric medicine. She received her BSN from the Barnes-Jewish College of Nursing at Washington University in St. Louis, MO, and graduated from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey with her MSN. She is also a MAT provider certified by the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. Ashira’s clinical expertise has been honed through almost two decades of experience in neurosurgery, ventilator weaning, wound care, internal medicine, psychiatric and addiction treatment. She has worked in both private practice and hospital settings and brings a caring attitude and impressive diagnostic skill to every patient in every situation.

Harriet Stein

LCSW

Specializing in CBT and Family Systems modalities, Harriet has been providing highly skilled therapy to her clients for over 4 decades. She is a graduate of NYU School of Social Work and The Ackerman Institute for Family Therapy and has practiced in a multitude of settings, including hospitals, clinics, and private practice. Harriet’s guidance and advice are firmly rooted in Torah-true hashkafa and halacha.

Eliezer Gruber

Certified Nutritionist (CN)

Binyan Shaleim founder and director Eliezer Gruber is well known for his passionate commitment to promoting wellness through a whole-body, research-based approach to health care. Eliezer holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in education from Beth Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ, and is a certified nutritionist with a degree from the National Institute of Nutritional Education.

Early in his career as a CN, Eliezer became concerned about the quality and efficacy of many of the nutritional supplements then on the market and made the decision to start his own company, NutriSupreme Research. Having his own company allowed him to personally source the raw materials and oversee the production of his supplements, with meticulous research guiding him throughout every aspect of the process.
Indeed, as a certified nutritionist, Eliezer’s professional approach has always been based on the latest medical and nutritional studies. In following the science, he regularly interacts with leading researchers and doctors from prestigious medical centers like Harvard, Cleveland Clinic, Johns Hopkins, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and others.
Indeed, Eliezer’s professional career has been greatly influenced by the work of Capt. Joseph R Hibbeln, M.D., with whom he frequently consults. Dr. Hibbeln is the Acting Chief, Section on Nutritional Neurosciences at National institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, NIH. He is internationally recognized for his groundbreaking research regarding the impact of Omega-3 fatty acid deficiencies and vegetable oil Omega-6 excesses on adverse neurodevelopment outcomes and risks for major depression, suicide, addictive and pain disorders.
In 2017, Dr. Hibbeln personally invited Eliezer to attend an ISNPR (International Society for Nutritional Psychiatry Research) conference in Bethesda, MD. The conference, which featured presentations from leading international researchers, strongly focused on the links between diet/nutrition and mental health, including the brain-gut-microbe axis, immunology, metabolic processes and molecular science.

Recognizing the critical importance of education in promoting healthy living, Eliezer lectures widely on the role of nutrition and lifestyle practices in achieving and maintaining optimal mental and physical wellness. He has also authored a popular book entitled, Raising Healthy and Happy Children.

Chanoch Krohn

LCSW

Chanoch is a social worker with years of experiencing treating children, teens and adults. Chanoch has a Bachelor’s in Talmudic Law from Beth Medrash Govoha, as well as a Master of Social Work from Long Island University. A therapist in private practice and a certified life coach, Chanoch was affiliated with the Bikur Cholim of Lakewood before joining the Binyan Shaleim family.

Chanoch is trained in the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy to treat conditions such as trauma and addiction. He acts as a strong advocate for clients’ needs and works closely with community leaders on mental health issues affecting the community at large, especially children. He oversees a self-help hotline and frequently acts as a facilitator at community group sessions. His experience and passion for helping others make him an invaluable asset to the Binyan Shaleim team.