Holy Spaces: The Use of Sacred Text in Clinical Social Work


 

Publication Date: September 1997

Publisher: Jewish Communal Service Association of North America

Author(s): Dana Rawitch

Research Area: Culture and religion; Social conditions

Keywords: Social Services; Jewish Identification; Mental Health

Type: Report

Coverage: United States

Abstract:

Jewish social work involves creating not only a safe space for the client to heal but also a holy space, and the most direct way to do so is to use sacred text in a clinical therapy setting. By exploring clients' Jewish identity and using Jewish texts where appropriate, the clinician may help them move beyond a certain point of choice—Nekudat Habchira—which they have been unable to move beyond previously.

In Journal of Jewish Communal Service, v.74 no.1, Fall 1997.