Interface Between Psychotherapy and Judaism

Interface Between Psychotherapy and Judaism PDF

Author: Seymour Hoffman

Publisher:

Published: 2017-01-03

Total Pages: 268

ISBN-13: 9781595693358

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This Reader focuses on the interface between psychotherapy and Judaism. The twenty-one articles (with one exception) that were authored by orthodox and haredi rabbis and mental health practitioners are varied and relate to theoretical as well as practical issues. The book is divided into three parts: Issues, Case Studies and Halachic Deliberations. In the first part, issues such as attitudes of ultra-orthodox rabbis to psychological treatment, unique challenges in treating haredi patients, and relationship between rabbis and psychologists are analyzed and discussed among other topics. Part two presents case histories of the treatment of haredi and religious patients which include the participation of rabbis in specific situations and charming anecdotes demonstrating the psychological wisdom, sensitivity and insights of ancient and contemporary Jewish sages. Part three contains responsa of respected contemporary arbiters to questions raised by religious psychotherapists and articles discussing the relevant and sensitive issues of cross-gender therapy and honoring abusive parents, by mental health practitioners. -- The appendix contains three articles in Hebrew - responsa regarding Jewish Law and psychological treatment and two articles by prominent rabbis on the relationship between rabbis and psychologists and ethics of the religious psychotherapist.

Mental Health, Psychotherapy and Judaism

Mental Health, Psychotherapy and Judaism PDF

Author: Seymour Hoffman

Publisher: Mondial

Published: 2011

Total Pages: 144

ISBN-13: 1595692215

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"The articles in this slim volume deal with the interface of psychotherapy and Judaism and encourages collaboration between mental health practitioners and rabbis. The articles contribute to a deeper understanding of a variety of halachic questions involved in mental health issues and the practice of psychotherapy and in defining the specific roles and functions of rabbis and psychotherapists in helping people with emotional and psychological problems. Mental health practitioners, rabbis and religious and secular readers will find the book an interesting and worthwhile read.

Reader for the Orthodox Jewish Psychotherapist

Reader for the Orthodox Jewish Psychotherapist PDF

Author: Seymour Hoffman

Publisher: Mondial

Published: 2014

Total Pages: 142

ISBN-13: 1595692797

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This book contains a selection of interesting and informative articles authored by orthodox rabbis and psychotherapists that are highly relevant and pertinent to religious psychotherapists, veterans and novices alike. The highly significant topics and issues discussed include the relationship between clergy and clinician, special considerations in treating the haredi patient, attitude towards and treatment of homosexuals, and responsa by prominent contemporary rabbis regarding the issue of halachic constraints and treatment options, among others. The latter contains anecdotal examples of conflicts and dilemmas that religious therapists encountered in their work that were presented by the editor to various rabbis for their halachic (religious law) rulings. Among the questions raised are: Is the therapist obligated to rebuke a patient when the latter is transgressing serious religious commandments?; Is the therapist permitted to encourage a patient to express his negative feelings towards his/her parents?; Can a therapist continue doing marital therapy after learning that the husband is a Cohen and his wife is a divorcee?; Is cross-gender therapy permissible?, amongst others. --- Religious therapists, rabbis and laymen will find the book stimulating, informative and a worth-while read.

Psychotherapy with the Orthodox Jew

Psychotherapy with the Orthodox Jew PDF

Author: Herbert S. Strean

Publisher: Jason Aronson

Published: 1994

Total Pages: 208

ISBN-13:

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Strean shows clearly how religion serves unconscious, neurotic, and defensive functions as well as adaptive purposes. Written in a personal, self-reflective style, Dr. Strean's case study material illustrates beautifully the relevance and application of psychoanalytic concepts to understanding the life and struggles of the Orthodox Jewish patient. These theoretical and technical constructs include transference and countertransference, the relationship between overt behaviors and their genetic antecedents, and the effects of interpretation on facilitating childhood reconstructions. Dr.

Essays on the Interface of Psychology, Psychotherapy and Judaism

Essays on the Interface of Psychology, Psychotherapy and Judaism PDF

Author: Seymour Hoffman

Publisher:

Published: 2021-08-26

Total Pages: 130

ISBN-13: 9781595694270

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The author of this slim volume is a senior clinical psychologist who has worked in a variety of mental health facilities in the U.S. and Israel for over half a century. The topics and issues discussed in this book include psychological effects of extreme standards of modesty, fake psychologists, cross-gender therapy, psychological wisdom of the sages, attitude of ultra-orthodox rabbis toward psychological treatment and contemporary responsa to psychological treatment options, amongst others. His latest book (in press) is entitled "Casebook of Unconventional Psychotherapy" (L. R. Price Publications). "I read this book with great interest. Dr. Hoffman provides the reader with a comprehensive review of the major challenges and controversies at the interface of psychology and Judaism. He cites a wide range of viewpoints and opinions from both Rabbinic and mental health perspectives. This will undoubtedly stimulate further discussion and hopefully promote increased collaboration between Rabbinical figures and mental health professionals." (Rabbi Dr. Ben Zion Sorotzkin is a prominent American clinical psycho-logist, author of many scholarly papers on psychology, psychotherapy, Jewish Law and Judaism, including "Chinuch: Beyond the Surface" Second Edition, 2020.)

Rabbis and Psychologists: Partners or Adversaries

Rabbis and Psychologists: Partners or Adversaries PDF

Author: Seymour Hoffman

Publisher: Mondial

Published: 2014-01-27

Total Pages: 140

ISBN-13: 1595692762

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This volume contains articles by a prominent rabbi and veteran mental health professionals who have been involved in working with and counseling people from the ultra-orthodox and religious communities for many years. The topics discussed include the different, and at times, opposing views and attitudes that rabbis and mental health practitioners hold regarding their roles in catering to the needs of the people who seek their help. Also discussed are halakhic (Jewish law) issues and controversies that arise in the practice of psychotherapy between therapists and rabbis and between rabbis themselves. Anecdotal examples are also brought describing the psychological wisdom and sophistication of rabbis and their productive and effective contribution and involvement with psychotherapists in psychological treatment. Rabbis and mental health professionals, religious and secular, as well as lay people interested in the interface of Judaism and mental health/psychotherapy, will find the book informative, enlightening and a worthwhile read.

Between Rationality and Irrationality

Between Rationality and Irrationality PDF

Author: Mordechai Rotenberg

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-29

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 1351314025

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Jewish Scriptural interpretation entails a potential therapeutic bridge between the rational-material and the irrational-mystic in the world of psychotherapy. PaRDeS, as this system is known, is derived from the following concepts. "P" denotes peshat, the plain interpretation of the text, which translates into a rational interpretation of life. "R" symbolizes remez, hinting at a related religious concept, which becomes a symbolic view of life. "D" stands for derash, the homiletic way of interpreting a text, or a narrative reading of life. And "S" represents sod, or the mystery behind an idea, which in psychological terms becomes a mystic understanding of life. Mordechai Rotenberg believes that it is by engaging readings in a "dialogue" with each other, as in the Jewish hermeneutic tradition, the psychology underlying one's existence may be more readily understood. While Rotenberg acknowledges that it is legitimate to focus on one cognitive-rational or one narrative-storytelling therapeutic method in the course of therapy, he argues that a comprehensive theory of psychotherapy should include treatment possibilities for both rational and irrational manifestations of behavior, thereby engulfing all aspects of human behavior. For Rotenberg, a person's life becomes the "text," subject to being read and interpreted. If that person wishes to change his or her behavior via psychotherapy, then a hermeneutic system must be employed to understand that person's life. However, many systems interpret a person's life according to the particular theory espoused by the therapist. Rotenberg, in contrast, introduces a balanced theory bridging the rational and the irrational. Between Rationality and Irrationality emphasizes that it is more important for a therapist to learn his client's own "language" than to impose his own doctrinaire interpretation. This edition includes a new introduction by the author, as well as an appendix explicating an original psychological interpretation of PaRDeS

A Minyan of Women

A Minyan of Women PDF

Author: Beverly A. Greene

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2013-09-13

Total Pages: 395

ISBN-13: 1317985494

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This book explores the diverse manner in which family dynamics shaped Jewish identities in ways that were unique and directly connected to their experiences within their families of origin. Highlighted is the diversity of experience of ethnic identity within members of a group of women who are similar in many respects and who belong to an ethnic group that is often invisible. Jewish people, like members of other ethnic groups are often treated as if their identities were homogeneous. However, gender, social class, sexual orientation, factors surrounding immigration status, proximity of family members to the holocaust or pogroms, the number of generations one's family has been in the US and other salient aspects of experience and identites transform and inform the meaning and experience by group members. The book explores these diversities of experience and goes on to highlight the way in which the intermingling of family dynamics and subsequent Jewish identity in these women is manifested in the practice of psychotherapy. In 2012, the book had been awarded the Jewish Women Caucus of the Association for Women in Psychology Award for Scholarship, for that year. This book was published as a special issue of Women and Therapy.

Issues in Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Judaism

Issues in Psychology, Psychotherapy, and Judaism PDF

Author: Seymour Hoffman

Publisher:

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 102

ISBN-13:

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In the recent past, there has been a general resurgence of investigative interest in the myriad relationships between psychology and Judaism, and more specifically between the latter and psychotherapy that has greatly enhanced our understanding of the interface between them. This book contributes to that worthwhile goal. Between its covers, one can find a collection of articles by orthodox rabbis, educators, and mental health professionals, which discuss and explore a wide spectrum of relevant and topics of concern to professionals and laymen. Controversial issues, such as the attitude of rabbis towards psychotherapy, clerical-clinician cooperation, and Judaism's view and attitude toward homosexuality are discussed in an open and forthright manner. It is expected that some readers may take exception to the views presented, which will, hopefully, enhance further deliberation on these topics. Throughout the book, rich clinical material is presented to guide the practitioner in treating the ultra-orthodox community; in depicting successful collaboration between rabbis and clinicians; and in enlightening the reader regarding the psychological wisdom and insights of the Jewish sages and religious leaders. Mental health professionals, religious leaders, and the general lay public who are interested in the interface between psychology, psychotherapy, and Judaism, will find this work informative, interesting, and stimulating.

Anti-Semitism and Psychiatry

Anti-Semitism and Psychiatry PDF

Author: H. Steven Moffic

Publisher: Springer Nature

Published: 2020-02-25

Total Pages: 374

ISBN-13: 3030377458

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Following World War II and the exposure of the concentration camps, psychiatry turned its attention to a vast range of cultural concerns with results that seemed to indicate a decline of stigma over time. However, it is now clear that whatever drives prejudices, especially in the case of anti-Semitism, was just dormant and perhaps not fully understood. Hate crimes and anti-Semitism broad recently re-emerged in Europe, and the United States followed shortly thereafter. The US Federal Bureau of investigation reports that New York City, which is still considered the most Jewish-friendly region in the US, experienced a 22% spike in anti-Semitic hate crimes in 2018 alone, with more extremes in other regions of the country. Neo-Nazi groups have grown stronger in the United States and abroad, often resulting in organized acts of violence. The recent Tree of Life synagogue shooting in Pittsburgh, PA demonstrated that these acts are not limited to one-on-one interactions, but sometimes as prolific, large-scale act. The medical community is not immune from biases either. The Cleveland Clinic recently fired a young doctor after she publicly declared her wishes to inject Jewish patients with lethal substances, which is only one of many hateful comments she made on social media over the course of several years. Psychiatrists in particular grapple with this as they try to serve patients of both Jewish and non-Jewish descent who struggle to process these acts of hate. Despite all of this, there is no training and no resource to guide medical professionals through these challenges. The editors of the recent Springer book, Islamophobia and Psychiatry, recognize this gap in the literature and seek to develop another high-quality text to meet this need. Written by expert clinicians in global regions where these incidents are most prevalent, the book seeks to be neither political nor opinion-based; instead, the text takes an innovative cross-cultural psychiatric interaction, similar to what was done with Springer’s new Islamophobia book. Coverage will range from foci on the social psychiatric aspects of anti-Semitism to how it may in turn infuse clinical encounters between patients and clinicians. Written by experts in this area, the insight and expertise of psychiatrists from a variety of cultural and religious backgrounds will focus on what psychiatrists need to know to combat the negative mental health impact that increasingly rise out of this particular phenomenon. Such a multi-cultural psychiatric approach has never been taken before for this topic. This discourse is the foundation for the primary goal of this book: to develop the tools needed to improve clinical outcomes for patients. Hence, this book aims to present an updated, comprehensive bio-psychosocial perspective on anti-Semitism at the interface of clinical psychiatry.