May 17, 2004

Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, Psychologist and Educator, Goes to Buenos Aires:
‘Getting Psychological Help is a Positive and there is Nothing to be Ashamed of,’ OU Expert Tells Argentinean Jewish Community

When the Argentinean Jewish community decided to confront the stigma widely held in Latin America towards receiving counseling and psychological help, its leaders turned to the Orthodox Union. After receiving the request, the OU dispatched Dr. Jeffrey Lichtman, an experienced psychologist who is National Director of the OU’s Yachad / the National Jewish Council for Disabilities, to help.

In a letter to the OU, Rabbi Daniel Oppenheimer, the Buenos Aires rabbi who sought the OU’s assistance wrote, “We need someone to enhance the acceptance within the Jewish community of getting counseling. Because of common prejudice against treatment, members of our community are very apprehensive about it.”

The OU was quick to respond. “The OU as an organization had already conducted a fund drive to help the local yeshivas after Argentina’s economic crisis of 2002-2003,” declared Rabbi Moshe D. Krupka, Executive Director for Programs. “Through discussions with local rabbis in Argentina, we were informed that the schools have many difficulties dealing with students who have psychological problems. This was a perfect opportunity for the Buenos Aires Jewish community to utilize the OU’s professional expertise, and we knew that Dr. Lichtman would be the person to send,” he said.

Dr. Lichtman was chosen because of his extensive background in this area. He has two Masters degrees – in School Psychology and Special Education – as well as a Doctorate and rabbinical training, from Yeshiva University. Dr. Lichtman has worked as a teacher, school psychologist, and a principal in both Jewish and public school and regular and special education settings.

Dr. Lichtman’s goal while in Argentina was to open people’s minds to the many positive aspects of psychology, and to communicate that there is no shame in seeking psychological help, he said.

The current attitude in Argentina is reminiscent of what the attitude in the Orthodox community as a whole used to be, explains Rabbi Dr. Tzvi Hersh Weinreb, the Executive Vice President of the Orthodox Union, and a clinical psychologist with many years of practice as well (Ph.D. – University of Maryland).

"The attitude of the Orthodox Jewish community to mental health treatment has changed markedly in recent years,” Rabbi Weinreb declared. “There was a time when Orthodox Jews would not consult such professionals at all, fearing the untoward religious influence of non-religious practitioners and being suspicious of the ideology of modern psychology, which was deemed to be indifferent, if not hostile, to religious life-styles. Today, however, the community has come to understand the contributions that modern mental health treatments can make to life adjustments, and understands that psychology can be very respectful and appreciative of the value of religion.

“Additionally,” Rabbi Weinreb said, “whereas many members of the community would once avoid treatment for fear of social stigma, this attitude too is now changing as trust increases in the psychotherapist's commitment to true confidentiality. The fact that increasing numbers of Orthodox Jewish mental health professionals are available has also made it easier for this community to bring its problems to the attention of those best suited to help."

The Jewish community in Argentina has not yet traveled this path. When Rabbi Oppenheimer asked the OU to send someone, there were three aspects to the trip he had in mind:

• To help launch a new mental health center, Neshama (“soul,” in Hebrew), for the Jewish community;
• To speak to educators, psychologists, and the community; and
• To speak at various yeshiva day schools throughout Buenos Aires.

Buenos Aires, where the Jewish community in Argentina is largely based, has about 200,000 Jews, almost all of whom, according to Dr. Lichtman, are hesitant to acknowledge the need for mental health treatment. They are part of a larger Latin American/Hispanic culture with its preconceptions against psychological help, which when combined with the Jewish community’s hesitations, result, in a sense in a double whammy, Dr. Lichtman explained.

“Latin America is about 30 to 50 years behind the United States in its understanding of psychology,” Dr. Lichtman declared. “Treatment there is extremely psychoanalytical in nature, and so to the Jewish community’s way of thinking, getting help is very antithetical to Judaism. I was able to share a much broader understanding of psychology; how psychology views religion today; and how therapy and counseling can significantly help the individual and community in ways that are totally in line with Judaism. From concerns regarding honoring one’s parents to confidentiality, we covered a number of important areas and suggested both a conceptual understanding as well as mental health interventions that were fully in keeping with the highest standards of professional practice and Torah values,” he said.

While in Argentina, Dr. Lichtman, speaking through a translator, gave several public lectures:

• How to Stimulate the Aptitudes of all Children, delivered to several hundred people from throughout the community;
• The Educator’s Role in the Development of the Child’s Potential, attended by approximately 150 educators; and
• Psychology and Halacha, attended by approximately fifty psychologists.

Additionally, Dr. Lichtman visited many schools throughout Buenos Aires, ranging from Ashkenazi to Sephardi, and modern Orthodox to Hassidic. The schools were made up of children from all walks of life, and Dr. Lichtman, together with Neshama staff, discussed how the soon-to-be-opened center could help the schools with their various challenges in ways most beneficial to their students’ particular needs.

A significant aspect of Dr. Lichtman’s trip was meeting with the director and staff of Neshama. The new facility will be a mental health center for the entire community, but with a special emphasis on children, Dr. Lichtman explained. “I listened to what staff had in mind for the operations of the center,” noted Dr. Lichtman. “But then I guided them in a new direction, a direction which I feel will better address the needs of the community.”

Originally, the staff wanted families and community members to refer people to the center’s staff psychologists for therapy. They also planned on offering after school extra-curricular activities – such as art and computer classes – for the students. This, the staff believes, would eventually lead students and their families to relate to the work of Neshama. However, given the stigma against treatment in the community, Dr. Lichtman realized more has to be done.

“You have to go into the communities and provide training and seminars to parents and teachers so that the community members actually see you at work,” declared Dr. Lichtman. “The staff needs to build on what I’ve spoken about in the past week and to show these communities that Neshama really does have something to offer. Then, if they are successful, people will start to realize that counseling and therapy can be most constructive; getting help is a positive, and nothing to be ashamed of.”

Dr. Lichtman is confident that the Orthodox Union has much to offer these communities. “We can institute a mechanism to provide training and guidelines for the professionals in Buenos Aires,” he said. He would like to develop a summer program for young American psychologists to travel to Argentina and to help the communities. Professionals would spend several weeks working with the community and its professionals and then spend time touring the country.

Overall, Dr. Lichtman was most successful, according to Rabbi Oppenheimer of Buenos Aires. “Through his lectures and discussions at the various schools and meetings, our community was able to benefit from Dr. Lichtman’s expertise, which is so much more advanced in this type of work than ours,” Rabbi Oppenheimer declared. “Dr. Lichtman’s lectures clarified important aspects of psychology that we needed help understanding. We can’t thank him and the OU enough,” he said.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.

The Orthodox Union, now in its second century of service to the Jewish community of North America and beyond, is a world leader in community and synagogue services, adult education, youth work through NCSY, political action through the IPA, and advocacy for persons with disabilities through Yachad and Our Way. Its kosher supervision label, the , is the world’s most recognized kosher symbol and can be found on over 275,000 products manufactured in 68 countries around the globe.

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