INTERVIEW WITH DR. RABBI DOV HELLER (MFT)

Abstract

The interview with licensed MFT Dr. Heller, touched on various aspects of psychoanalyses, from discovering ones orientation during internship, to the practical application of practicing, licensing and running a business in California, to specific emotional traumas, religious psychology, political agendas current in todays world, and exploring modern trends and strategies employed in the field of psychotherapy.

Intro

Dr. Heller is a licensed practicing Marriage Family therapist as well as psychoanalyst. He graduated from Antioch University in Los Angeles. He presently specializes in psychoanalyses. After taking a leave of absence from the Harvard graduate school of theology where he studied Christianity and Judaism, he then studied in Jerusalem, Israel where he was ordained as a rabbi under Rabbi Noah Weinberg, one of the worlds leading authorities on orthodox Jewish law and theology. Following a substantial time working with people, he became well aware that his rabbinical background was not sufficient in understanding human nature. After practicing as a rabbi in St. Louis, then Los Angeles, he returned back to graduate school and got his masters in Marriage and Family Therapy (MFT) where apart from his counseling as a rabbi, practices as a psychoanalyst and relationship therapist in Beverly Hills, California. “Rabbis are not therapists, and they should know what their limitations are”, says Dr. Heller. “Sometimes rabbis feel they can do the same job as a therapist, but not only can it be inadequate, but it is also sometimes dangerous. Rabbis should know when to refer people, who display symptoms of neuroticism or emotional pain. Basic information about symptomology would be useful.”

Psychology and religion

Dr. Heller sees patients from various cultures and religions, not only his own. If a patient approaches him whose basic values are antithetical to his, then he advises them that “his is not the correct address!” If they happen to have an emotional problem rooted in an identity issue such as that comes with “being gay”, certain in their convictions to lead that life style, or seeking harmony “between themselves and their lovers”, Dr. Heller would then have to happily refer them to someone other than himself who might be able help them find that harmony they seek living that life style. The reason being because he honestly feels he would simply not know how to approach, not have the necessary skills nor tools to deal with such a subject. “I’m not right, they’re not wrong, I’m simply not the right address”. However, asking him if he ever had a patient with identity issues not exclusively sexual but ones that could lead to suicidal tendencies, he conferred that he would “explore it with them.” He continued wanting to elaborate on this complex topic of sexual, gender identity issues, with all their inter-related branches, been that such weight is placed upon them by current political agendas. He raised the opinion of his much sought-after mentor, Dr. Robert Stolorow, liberal and anti-religious psychologist, (founding faculty member, training and supervising analyst at the Institute of Contemporary Psychoanalysis, Los Angeles; founding faculty member at the Institute for the Psychoanalytic Study of Subjectivity, New York City; and clinical professor of psychiatry at the UCLA School of Medicine), conceding that gay individuals demonstrate high levels of “emotional pain and trauma, regardless of the homosexual genetic factor as well”. Dr. Heller is of the opinion that the political line drawing upon the excusability of behavior based on genetics is “insane”. The APA’s convictions of removing homosexuality as a mental disorder (Bieber, 1999), does not excuse factors of developmental disorders that come with it. I raised an example of what in a given context could be viewed as a genetic limitation, such as one born a female, thus in ultra-orthodox communities being forbidden to sing or dance in public in front of men, thereby resulting in conflicts transpiring between her inner desires and the outer prohibitive environment she finds herself in. Dr. Heller agreed that certain genetic factors (or talents for that matter), would naturally come into conflict, attracting developmental disorders within a religious restrictive dogmatic setting.

Non-orthodox American secular Jewish communities, such as reform or conservative, have positive attitudes toward therapy (Kaminetsky, Stricker, 2000). “Having a family psychologist is common in these groups and is seen as part of growing up, some seeing benefit with periodic visits to a family therapist”, says Dr. Heller. In Israel, however, it is less common. The middle eastern culture differs greatly from from the western American culture. Its less common for Israeli Jews, specifically “Haredi” or extreme Orthodox communities to ever seek help from a Mental Health specialist. According to Dr. Heller, people in the religious jewish orthodox world in the United States, seem less resistant to western healing methods than do some other restrictive communities, such as Muslim communities. Dr Heller advises that “people in religious communities should be educated on how to react and interact with others who show signs of some sort of emotional or psychosocial disturbance”.

Addressing my own families approach in treating my emotional disturbances growing up, I brought up the fact that my visiting with an Orthodox Jewish therapist was not as successful as my visits with non-Jewish Christian therapists in later years. Dr. Heller was not surprised. When clients come to him and ask his advise on whether to seek a therapist who is religious or not, Dr. Heller always gives the same answer, “A well trained therapist is much better than a religious non-trained therapist”. When asking him, “Why? Shouldn’t the Torah given by G-d be an instrument not only addressing right or wrong behaviors or actions, but also attend not only to peoples spiritual but as well as their mental or physical ills?” His answer was a firm, “No, its not. That’s a mistake people make, that someone who has tremendous Torah knowledge is going to be a good therapist. Certainly everything is in the Torah, but I have never seen any body who is able to appropriately extract those methods that can deal with a variety of mental disorders in an effective way”.

Years ago, when Dr. Heller was completing his rabbinical degree from Yeshiva, a religious jewish university in Jerusalem, Israel, he asked his teacher Rabbi Yaakov Weinberg this very question. Rabbi Weinberg conceded that the knowledge of psychology or of the science of the human mind, just as much as all truths including those of science are inextricably bound to Torah, he has yet not heard of anyone who has successfully extracted the serious study of psychology from it. “In todays world, many different kind of issues come up. That’s why modern psychology is useful”. Dr. Heller explained that if modern scientists are true and thorough in their investigations, in their study of human nature and development, disorders and healing specifically, then of course Judaism, in its relentless commitment to truth while never compromising Torah, must examine those developments and perceive them as worthy, viable, important elements in their particular contexts.

Holistic medical approaches in ancient Israel

We explored the fact that the Kohanim, the priests of the Torah, were the ones that dealt with medical issues in the community such as tzaraas (Leviticus 13-14, New Living Translation), otherwise known as leprosy, which was regarded as a skin and surface condition that manifested by spewing negativities rooted in the mind, through the mouth, in other words “evil speech-oral behavior” (Parsons, n.d.). Those Kohanic priests of that period had certain skills, psycho-spiritual wisdom that gave them insight to conditions outwardly manifest in the tangible physical world, including the flesh. Novis, or prophets, saw that one’s body or physical life, with all its accompanying psychosocial, behavioral and environmental elements, revealed the nature of one’s unique relationship with one’s inner most core, one’s soul, or one’s G-d. Dr. Heller is of the opinion that there isn’t a professional, religious rabbi, mental health, or physical specialist, who operates on such a profound holistic level.
Merging truths of old with the new

The way we can presently evolve towards bringing back those profound therapeutic tools employed in the past is by synthesizing behavioral principles found in the Torah with that of the field of psychology, those that have proven beyond doubt to have serious legitimacy. Such an example would be the tremendous contributions made by developmental psychology in the areas of mother-child attachment relationship theories. In societies of the past, as well as some present-day native or traditional communities, great importance is placed on the primary care-giver. If mother was not able to provide that emotional support, there would be a sister or aunt to provide for those basic needs. Dr. Heller brings up an example of a healthier person he came across in his practice who didn’t seem to have stable mother or father. Upon careful investigation , it became apparent that one particular care-giver stood out in that persons life, in this particular case an aunt who “raised him”.

At addressing some emotional issues babies have with their mothers, I touched upon an insight I had regarding a case of “reactive attachment disorder” in the Torah, as it appears with Ishmael and his panful separation from his mother Hagar after been banished from the Abraham household that painfully rejected him of his “right of first born” privileges. My particular interest is how to solve and heal developmental issues rooted in the distant past, that have evolved into communal, then violent political conflicts in the present. Dr. Heller agreed stating that “one needs not be a psychologist to see that emotional trauma and psychological problems are trans-generational, passed down from parents to children. As the Torah states that children promulgate the ill-effects of their parents for generations until they do teshuva (repentance), and stop the vicious cycle by returning to ways consistent with Torah principles, and bring harmony back into their lives. It certainly would be an interesting study of how to alleviate the damage in the present from something passed down from multi-generations over time”.

I continued my reflections on the subject of how such emotional trauma rooted in the now unrecognizable distant past gave rise to spiritualizing self-destructive disorders such as suicide in a religious paradigm such as fundamentalist Islam. Dr. Heller commented that such a concept is indeed antithetical to Judaism, a religion that cherishes and preserves life at all costs. Such emotional trauma, having been fashioned over time out of basic necessity to alleviate pain, has been “elevated” to political heights used against jewish-christian society at targeting their religious or philosophical ideologies where they are most vulnerable. Of note is what began in a single dysfunctional family unit in the biblical past has ended up in political conflicts of deadly proportions today. Dr. Heller concedes, “A serious study of where psychology and politics interface is indeed a fascinating one.”

Contributions of truth and wisdom

Judaism sees the merit in the gifts of wisdom found by the nations of the world, and their necessary contributions to humanity as a whole. If only the world saw the merit in the gifts of wisdom Judaism has to contribute to humanity, today as much as it has in the past, such as the social laws of abstaining from stealing or killing. As a humanity we are all divided and diverse, and all, at striving to live to the apex of those ideals inherent in our cultural and ideological backgrounds, can make the world truly a marvelous, conflict free, rich and rewarding structure of harmony beyond what we can presently conceive.

We have to recognize that science is evolving. What was true yesterday is not necessarily true today, like Freuds “drive” theory, says Dr. Heller. “I don’t know how anyone educated can take this theory seriously today. Erikson too was a classic Freudian however more phenomenalogical in his experience of development.” But Torah’s truth’s are unchanging, its laws are as truly unchangeable and undeniable as the laws of physics, gravity and a myriad of others we are yet to discover. After thousands upon thousands of years, at seeing civilizations build upon its truths, Torah still holds up the very same ideals that were important in the distant past, important now as they still will be in future years to come.

Techniques of psychotherapy

Dr Heller does not use psychoanalytic techniques expounded upon in the Jewish mystical tradition such as Kabbalah or Chassidut, inherent in his own cultural background, but rather employs techniques developed under the scrutiny of modern science. His approach at looking at disorders as a product of development issues, precludes him from taking the view that disorders are products of sin. He doesn’t look at conditions in terms of disorders, he looks at conditions in terms of people and their emotional experience. He explains, “Its much more liberating to not have to diagnose and label, which is very limiting. and suffocating relating to someone that way. I just want to view one as a person who struggling just like me, I can help perhaps help them make sense with some of what they are going through”. He contiues, “one has a whole developmental history that impacts decision making. I am much more interested discovering one’s history that lead one to make a decision, thereby bring them to a greater understanding of themselves. By liberating bechirah (free will) one has a greater possibility for choosing. You just don’t bring G-d into it”. “Psychotherapy is a discipline dealing with emotional trauma. That’s how I see it. And not everyone has emotional trauma, so I turn to other techniques such as cognitive behavioral approaches for my patients to try out. But usually people come in with traumatic pain that comes from their childhood. That’s what therapy is for”.

Dr. Heller comes from what is known as the mussar movement within Judaism that places great importance on developing ones behavioral characteristics. One healing one’s emotional pain is through the reconstruction of one’s cognitive-behavioral mechanisms known as middos. These disturbances in middos are really trauma states and “to get one from a trauma state to what I call a self-preservational state, which is a real growth state, that’s therapy, to work to develop ones middos”, affirms Dr. Heller, “to help people know, “Where am I going? Where is this taking me?”, that perhaps is the additional element I introduce from Judaism into my work. However, here, I am a therapist, not a rabbi ! I have a clear distinction of the two. As a therapist I have to take a clear, non-judgmental approach, non-conditional stance. My religiosity can’t impact how I relate to you, or lack of it”.

He continues to affirm that, that is the only way he can really and truly be able to help people. “A rabbi’s job is to judge people based on what G-d tells us in the Torah”, but Dr. Heller simply does not when he works as a therapist. He just “can’t, and that’s something very powerful for someone to experience, because it’s really communicating to you, who you really are, and I accept you for who you are, and I have empathy for your struggles since I have plenty of my own - why should yours be any worse than mine?” says Dr. Heller.

Dr. Heller seeks to integrate spiritual insights of the Torah with modern psychological developments. “My own training has been in psychoanalyses and relation-analyses”, he explains. He has not seen other modalities able to penetrate and deal with peoples pain, such as ones developed by Dr. Stolorow, his own mentor whose psychological insights he views as superior and most powerful. “Emotional pain specifically is an issue I see as most important in confronting with my clients”, states Dr. Heller, “that is what psychology has come to understand, what the genesis is that causes emotional, traumatic pain. That is Dr. Stolorow’s area of specialty, developmental trauma.”

Dr. Stolorow’s methods are the techniques preferred by Dr. Heller. A primary method employed is one known as Intersubjectivity (Doctors, 2005) “basic to psychoanalyses, but emphasizing the transference, counter-transference in the therapist-patient relationship”, he explains, “using “the relationship to elicit insight with the way we interact with each other”. Dr Freud had an idea of the nature of transference, “Dr. Stolorow developed it into another. One’s response to the therapist, or anyone else, is based on ones developmental history. “How you think, how you feel and how you process is a function of where you come from. So they can be adaptive or non-adaptive, they can cause you to be expansive or narrowed, - shut-down. So my job as a therapist consists of how I experience you, and then be able to make sense of that.” says Dr. Heller.
Given profound insight I responded, “that’s awesome”.

Conducting the business

Some people have regular slots at Dr, Heller’s office. Some don’t. “Im flexible.” he says. “I have some non-jewish clients, not a lot. I like to keep my practice in the Jewish community”. “Some therapists choose to make house calls, not being personality types to do their best therapeutic work in offices or office buildings.” Although he sees certain issues developing from such approaches, such as boundary challenges, he has known a couple of counselors that practice as such. He has seen a few patients who had schizophrenic episodes in his office before him. Although techniques of transference are also applicable in such cases, schizophrenia poses difficulties since one not only deals with his own issues but many other elements in addition, such as “hallucinations and delusions”. “Its just that one needs to process the information differently. Its all about the person, a gestalt, your whole self reflected, whether in dreams, thoughts, different parts of who you are. Schizophrenics have several centers demanding attention”, says Dr. Heller. “I haven’t done that much therapy with such cases. They usually just drop out. Only if they are high functioning psychotics, is it really possible to treat such individuals”.

Internships & Orientation

Dr. Heller explained that depending on what work one desires to do, one could practice as a therapist with a masters degree in mental science. This also depends on meeting the particular demands of the states one wishes to practice, and the hourly requirements accumulated during internship. When Dr. Heller got his licensure, he was subject to a written and oral examination, such as was necessary for MFT’s at that time. According to his knowledge an oral and written examination was also required for potential MSW’s (Social workers). To practice as an MFT, one’s degree has to have a “relational component”, since the nature of patient-therapist relationship is “relational”, it allows them to practice as psychoanalytical therapists as well. He explains that, “the concept of marriage therapist was created when crises revolved around marriages arose, and their seemed not to be a field specializing in this specific relational department”. He continues to explain that, “that very distinction is no longer meaningful today as it was then”. Dr. Heller did his internship at the Jewish Family Services in Los Angeles. His advise is to first have a sense of orientation where one desires to practice. One could do an internship that could expose one to different orientations, working with supervisors who employ various different approaches, may prove useful in discovering one’s orientation. “If you know what kind of orientation you want to be in, you may look for supervisors that can help you, and assist you grow in that orientation, behavioral, or gestalt or analytical.”

Organizations

Dr. Heller advised I take a look at the “Nefesh Organization” (http://www.nefesh.org), an international observant-Jewish association of psychologists openly discussing mental health disorders and other issues, and the approach and integration process observed by Orthodox therapists. Dr. Heller is a member of a special professional supervisory group with his mentor Dr. Stolorow. “Its not a therapy group, its a supervisory group where psychologists discuss cases. The psychoanalytical approach we take to all these cases is enlightening, giving me tremendous personal benefit”.

Conclusion

It was very inspiring, to say the least, to talk with Dr. Heller. He is able to communicate profound matters in very simple terms. Sharing the same religious, cultural background, sincere interest in psychology, and love for humanity, gave me a birds-eye view into the possible future, the potential contribution I could make to my community and its outward reverberations into the global community and mankind as a whole. It is still a field I feel proud and privileged to explore, and I feel a sense of security that indeed there are individuals ahead of me on this path in whose footsteps I may safely and gladly follow.


References
Bieber, I. (1999). The A.P.A. Normalization of Homosexuality. Retrieved August 4, 2011 from: http://www.narth.com/docs/normalization.html

Heller, Dov (n.d.). Dr. Dov Heller’s website: Retrieved August 4, 2011 from: http://www.claritytalk.com/about_dov_heller.htm

Doctors, S. (2005). An interview with Robert Stolorow. From the Psychology of the self online website, (3) 1. Retrieved August 4, 2011 from : http://www.iapsp.org/newsletter/2005/doctors.php

Engelhardt, Jr., H. Tristram; and Caplan, Arthur L.. Scientific Controversies (August, 2011) Cambridge University Press, 1987. Cambridge Books Online. Cambridge University Press. Retrieved August 4, 2011 from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511628719.020 (As cited from : http://www.narth.com/docs/normalization.html)

Kaminetsky, G., Stricker, G., (2000). Does Religiosity Predict Attitudes Toward Psychotherapy? Journal of Psychology and Judaism. Springer, Netherlands. (24) 4, 251-260. Doi: 10.1023/A:1011016913970. Retrieved August 4, 2011 from: http://dx.doi.org/10.1023/A:1011016913970

Parsons, J. J. (n.d.). The trouble of Tza-raat. From the Hebrew for christians website. Retrieved August 4, 2011 from: http://www.hebrew4christians.com/Scripture/Parashah/Summaries/Tazria/Tzaraat/tzaraat.html