“Think Good and It Will Be Good”
(Original Yiddish: ,טראכט גוט וועט זיין גוט Trakht gut vet zein gut)
After two decades as a congregational rabbi and senior Torah educator, it became increasingly clear that religious/spiritual growth is intimately intertwined with emotional/psychological growth. Out of my commitment to be a catalyst for achieving greater wholeness for my congregants and students, I decided to pursue counseling on a professional level. To this end I have completed a doctorate in Pastoral Counseling, which integrates psychotherapeutic techniques and religious/spiritual considerations.
After completion of the extensive course-work in Pastoral Counseling, I decided to pursue specialized training in the most effective counseling technique available- “TEAM” Therapy, created by Dr. David Burns, author of the best-selling book on mood therapy, “Feeling Good.”
TEAM is a method of psychotherapy that is rooted in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT). Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy recognizes that the way that individuals perceive a situation is more closely connected to their reaction than the situation itself. Our feelings and behavior are a function of the way we think. We can achieve profound and rapid changes in feeling and behavior by identifying and correcting distorted and unhelpful assumptions.
Viktor E. Frankl, the great Jewish psychiatrist who survived Auschwitz with the power of this insight, eloquently asserted, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”
TEAM is an acronym for Testing, Empathy, Agenda, Methods. TEAM acknowledges the value of patient feedback (Testing), demonstrates powerful and effective empathy (Empathy), recognizes the individual as the expert in helping him/herself (Agenda Setting), and encompasses a vast array of methods to guide the individual to the desired outcome (Methods). TEAM therapy is short-term, focused, and effective.
See Dr. Burns’ TED talk for a brief summary of the power of this approach https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1T5uMeYv9Q
You do not have to suffer any longer. The TEAM approach will help you with depression, anxiety, habits, addictions, and relationship problems.
Do not hesitate to contact me so we can begin today to work together towards a wellness rooted in the most effective therapeutic techniques, with a great sensitivity to the centrality of the religious/spiritual dimensions of our lives.