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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 5
5. You shall be Holy, for Holy am I, Hashem your God - Leviticus 19:2
This concept expands upon the third step in the Twelve Step program, where one turns his or her life over to a Higher Power; the Torah emphasizes that the Torah connects how we are to live to a Higher Power, which implies a higher purpose. As mentioned in Concept 2, the Torah recognizes the necessity to express one's physical needs in an appropriate way. However, the pursuit of self-gratification is notan end in itself. The Torah teaches that we should strive to connect all of our actions to the "higher purpose" of sanctifying life. "Being Holy" is a major principle in Judaism: וידבר ה' אל משה לאמור: דבר אל כל בני עדת ישראל ואמרת אליהם קדשים תהיו כי קדוש אני ה' אלוקיכם, "God spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the entire congregation of the Children of the Israel, and say to them 'You shall be Holy, for Holy am I, Hashem Your God' " (Leviticus 19:2).
Rashi emphasizes that this part of the Torah was taught to all Am Yisrael who had assembled together because the "majority of the essentials of the Torah are dependent on it" (Rashi on Leviticus 19:2).
Rabbi Dr. Leo Levi, former dean of Machon Lev in Jerusalem and president of the Association of Orthodox Jewish Scientists, writes: "The Torah commands us to bekadosh, "holy." What does this mean? When applied to an object, kadosh means that it is set aside for a certain elevated purpose. Similarly, then, our duty to be holy means that we must view ourselves as dedicated to a higher purpose, that we do not drift along in our life, driven by momentary inclinations and desires, but rather adopt a higher goal and devote ourselves to it. According to Viktor Frankl's logotherapy, it is exactly the lack of such purpose in life which is responsible for much of today's mental illness. In these cases, the mitzvah of kedushah is the obvious cure - and preventative." [1]
An example of this is that the Torah, unlike non-Jewish perspectives that extolled celibacy as the ideal state, views marriage as the highest goal for all, including the High Priest. Viewing marriage as kiddushin implies that the marital relationship and commitment is not just "civil," but also holy, and it provides a framework within which the Divine Presence or Shechinah can dwell if that relationship is worthy.
In summary, when analyzing the relationship between the Twelve Steps and Torah, one important distinction is that while the program shows one how to stay clean, Torah-based recovery goes a step beyond and teaches deeper reasons why it is important to be clean in a world that has so many temptations.
[1] Leo Levi, Torah and Science: Their Interplay in the World Scheme (Jerusalem: Feldheim, 1983), p. 96.