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The 'Nachas Ruach' Treatment Model
Excerpts from "Nachas Ruach: Torah-Based Psychotherapy and Tools for Growth and Healing"
Preface:
A Way Out of Addiction for Orthodox Jews?
From Internet addiction to marital and family problems, from "teens at risk" to the psychological challenges facing those who are frum from birth and baalei teshuvah, today's changing world can be a confusing one. The religious Jewish community is also not immune to many sensitive contemporary issues, which can no longer be ignored. Yet sadly, some people who need psychological advice refrain from seeking it, believing that contemporary psychology and psychiatry are antagonistic to Yiddishkeit.
This important work by well-known therapist Dr. Naftali Fish offers a solid conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between Torah and psychology - including the Twelve Step program - showing clearly where they are compatible and where they are not. Dr. Fish is uniquely qualified to bridge this gap, as an Orthodox Jew grounded in Torah Judaism and the wisdom of our sages, and as a licensed clinical psychologist living in Jerusalem, with over twenty-five years' experience working with a variety of clinical issues, including the treatment of addictions and healing the inner wounded child. Here he presents the Nachas Ruach Treatment Model (NRTM), an innovative, effective approach that integrates Torah values and spirituality within the context of professional psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, as illustrated by intriguing case studies.
This book is a must-read for all professionals in the field of mental health, as well as for rabbis, educators, students studying psychology, and educated lay readers. Blending theory and practice, this book also provides practical tools and exercises for personal growth that anyone can gain from in their daily lives.
Preface:
A Way Out of Addiction for Orthodox Jews?
From Internet addiction to marital and family problems, from "teens at risk" to the psychological challenges facing those who are frum from birth and baalei teshuvah, today's changing world can be a confusing one. The religious Jewish community is also not immune to many sensitive contemporary issues, which can no longer be ignored. Yet sadly, some people who need psychological advice refrain from seeking it, believing that contemporary psychology and psychiatry are antagonistic to Yiddishkeit.
This important work by well-known therapist Dr. Naftali Fish offers a solid conceptual framework for understanding the relationship between Torah and psychology - including the Twelve Step program - showing clearly where they are compatible and where they are not. Dr. Fish is uniquely qualified to bridge this gap, as an Orthodox Jew grounded in Torah Judaism and the wisdom of our sages, and as a licensed clinical psychologist living in Jerusalem, with over twenty-five years' experience working with a variety of clinical issues, including the treatment of addictions and healing the inner wounded child. Here he presents the Nachas Ruach Treatment Model (NRTM), an innovative, effective approach that integrates Torah values and spirituality within the context of professional psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, as illustrated by intriguing case studies.
This book is a must-read for all professionals in the field of mental health, as well as for rabbis, educators, students studying psychology, and educated lay readers. Blending theory and practice, this book also provides practical tools and exercises for personal growth that anyone can gain from in their daily lives.
Concept 1: Part 2
1. "Beloved is man, who was created in the Divine image" (Pirkei Avos 3:18).
The Torah obviously doesn't deny one's "issues" but sees them as external to his deepest inner self. Thus, a main goal of the Nachas Ruach treatment is to help the client know this intellectually and internalize this truth unconsciously, and from this place rebuild a healthy self-esteem. For example, the Twelve Step program correctly requires an addict to continue to say, "I am Joe Smith and I am an addict, clean for the past ten years." This is necessary so the addict won't "fall back" into denial, which is the first step to relapse. The Chai group clearly recognizes this requirement of the program. However, it encourages the recovering addict to say as well, "I am Moshe Cohen and I am an addict, clean for the past eight years. I am also a Jew created in the Divine image." When a Jewish addict says this, he is recognizing that he has intrinsic value, positive potentials, and the possibility to grow.
Being created in the Divine image is also the source of man's free will, and the Sfat Emet teaches that this also gives him the responsibility to live a life congruent with his potential and true value.[1] The classical Twelve Step program teaches an addict how to "stay clean;" Torah-based recovery emphasizes why an addict should want to be clean - because he is a person created in the Divine image.
In summary, the Nachas Ruach formulation means that while an addict should never forget that he has a "chronic disease," he doesn't have to and should not define himselfonly in terms of that disease. He should also recognize and affirm that his unique Divine spark, which is his essential self, is always clean.
[1] Rabbi Yosef Stern, The Three Festivals: Insights of the Sfat Emet (New York: Artscroll Publishers, 1994), p. 255.