Nachas Ruach: Torah-Based Psychotherapy and Tools for Growth and Healing by Dr. Naftali Fish, Targum Press, Brooklyn, NY; ISBN 978-1-56871-50099-9 ©2011, $29.95, p. 304 plus bibliography
By Fred Reiss, Ed.D.
WINCHESTER, California–Abraham J. Twerski, M.D., founder and medical director emeritus of Gateway Rehab, in Pittsburg, PA, relates in an opening letter to the book Nachas Ruach that due to the influence of Sigmund Freud, an atheist, there is still a lingering impression that psychology and psychiatry are antagonistic toward Judaism. So much so, in fact, that many religious Jews who need the services of a psychologist or psychiatrist fail to seek out and benefit from a mental-health professional.
Dr. Naftali Fish, author of Nachas Ruach, opened an office in Jerusalem shortly after moving from Philadelphia to Israel, in 1984. In his encounters with new clients he began to hear expressions like, “‘God willing,’ not only when speaking about ending their addiction, but even when setting up our next appointment.” By noting the reliance of his clients on God, the Torah and Mitzvot, Fish developed a unique method of incorporating the social context and extreme religious beliefs of the patient with mainstream psychological theory.
In Nachas Ruach, psychologist Dr. Naftali Fish presents the Nachas Ruach Treatment Model, a mental-health model for providing psychological healing to the most religious Jews, from the modern Orthodox to the ultra-haredi.
Extremely religious Jews have social issues that are foreign to secular and less observant Jews. While some women with children, for example, might live in dysfunctional marriages, ultra-orthodox Jews are faced with the added issue of the legitimacy or appropriateness of divorce. Torah learning is a highly desirable quality in men in the ultra-religious community. Some men who desire to learn, but are unable to master the material, can carry this frustration into other parts of their lives.
Fish also found himself professionally involved with religious teenagers who are conflicted over the secular model of adolescence and the religious model.
The Nachas Ruach Treatment Model is based on eclectic psychotherapy and Ericson’s hypnotherapy, while fitting within the framework of ultra-religious Torah spirituality. Fish’s diverse approach includes translating psychological concepts into Torah perspectives. For example, Fish interprets the unconscious mind in Freudian psychology as the neshama or soul. The Id becomes the yetzer hara, or animal soul, and the Super-Ego is linked to the Talmudic Expression (Tractate Tamid, 32a), “Who is wise? He who sees the consequences of his behavior.”
Fish also joins Bradshaw’s Wounded Inner-Child Theory with Judaism through the proverb, “Train the youth in his way; even when he grows old he will not swerve from it.” Each step of the Twelve-Step Recovery process is likewise connected to a passage from the Old Testament.
Nachas Ruach is an indispensible book for anyone who counsels or provides mental-health services to the ultra-religious community, such as rabbis and teachers. In addition, the detailed case studies and clear associations between various psychological treatments and Judaism bring insight to all those interested in self help and personal growth.
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Dr. Fred Reiss is a retired public and Hebrew school teacher and administrator. He is the author of The Standard Guide to the Jewish and Civil Calendars; Ancient Secrets of Creation: Sepher Yetzira, the Book that Started Kabbalah, Revealed; and Reclaiming the Messiah. The author can be reached through at fred.reiss@sdjewishworld.com
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