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From: rhendel@mcs.drexel.edu (Russell Hendel)
Date: Mon, 17 Nov 1997 19:37:38 -0500
Subject: A Simple Observation On Slander and Psychotherapy

There have been many find points made in the last few issues on slander
and psychotherapy. The following simple case may answer some remaining
questions:

If a person comes into a therapist office and starts telling his/her
problems and conspicuously and obviously slanders people then I would
simply posit that in ADDITION to all his/her other problems this person
has the personality problem of slandering people.

Quite simply then the therapist has not only a halachic requirement to
object but the therapist also has a PROFESSIONAL OBLIGATION to cure this
person's most blatant fault: His/her compulsion to slander.

In fact this would tie in with what Jeremy Nussbaum said: Our view of
slander vs psychotherapy must be a function of how Judiasm views
psychotherapy...and obviously Judaism considers Slander to be the root
cause of many personality faults (e.g. consider the multitude of
statements on the MeTzOrah..who is being punished for all his faults...
yet the most basic one in "slander")

Let me put it still another way..all the questions so far have separated
Therapy's desires from Judaism's desires...what I am positing is that it
is contrary (or should be contrary) to professional standards of
therapists to ignore a "slander compulsion" problem and concentrate on
other (minor) problems.

I would be so bold to say that if a person went twice a week to a
therapist for a year (50*2*100=$20000 dollars) and the therapist never
attempted to cure his/her slander problem then this person would be
entitled in a Jewish court for a return of his/her money due to the
professional negligence of the therapist.

Needless to say I am not only interested in halachic comments..  I
wonder how the therapists feel about my "diagnosis"

Russell Jay Hendel; Ph.d ASA rhendel @ mcs drexel edu