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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.
"The Sixth & Seventh Steps"
"We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character."
"We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings."[1]
These steps relate to the relationship between human effort (hishtadlus) and Divine response. There is a difference here between Torah and non-Jewish perspectives, with the Torah placing more emphasis on the value and possibility of an individual being able to change himself through his own efforts. However, ultimately the Torah recognizes that for an addict to truly recover, Divine assistance is necessary. This is stressed in Psalms 51:12, which is considered a psalm for repentance: לב טהור ברא לי אלוקים ורוח נכון חדש בקרבי, "Create a pure heart for me, O God, and a steadfast spirit renew within me."
The addict is asking Hashem to give him a new pure heart and to renew his spirit, which has been negatively affected through his active addiction. The verb "bara" (ברא) implies a new creation, [2] whereas the verb "chadesh" (חדש) implies a renewal.
We also see this idea reflected in each of the Shabbos prayers that a Jew expresses with deep yearning: וטהר לבנו לעבדך באמת, "Purify our hearts to serve You in truth."
The Ramchalalso addresses the relationship between human effort and Divine response. He writes: "Holiness is twofold. Its beginning is labor and its end reward; its beginning is exertion and its end, a gift. That is, it begins with sanctifying himselfand ends with his being sanctified. As our Sages of blessed memory have said (Yoma 39a), if one sanctifies himself a little, he is sanctified a great deal; if he sanctifies himself below, he is sanctified from above."[3]
[1] Narcotics Anonymous NA Blue Book, pp. 33-34.
[2] Artscroll Commentary on Genesis, 1:1, Ramban (New York: Messorah Publications, 2004), p. 23.
[3] Ramchal, Mesillas Yesharim (Feldheim), p. 326.
"The Eighth & Ninth Steps"
"We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all."
"We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others." [1]
These steps are compatible with the Torah's understanding of the process of teshuvah, which the Rambam stresses requires an individual to actively redress wrongs that he may have committed against another person, including returning money that had been stolen.[2]
These steps are important for any person who has caused harm to another. They are particularly important for an addict, and though they are difficult steps, they are very worthwhile in helping him gain a sense of also being "clean" in this area as well as his active addiction. Emotionally, it allows him to become freer of the burdens and "unfinished business" of the past and gives him more of a possibility to go forward in a positive way.
[1] Narcotics Anonymous NA Blue Book, pp. 36, 39.
[2] Hilchos Teshuvah 2:11.
"The Tenth Step"
"We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it."[1]
Self-evaluation, or cheshbon hanefesh, is also not a "one time deal" in Torah. For example, before going to sleep every night there is a custom to forgive others in one's heart and to doteshuvah for mistakes we may have made during the day. In the well-known "Letter of the Ramban" (Iggeres HaRamban), it is recommended: "Examine your deeds in the morning and in the evening, and in this way you will be doing teshuvah all your days."
[1] Narcotics Anonymous NA Blue Book, p. 41.