In this paper, I have examined in some detail a number of examples of actual and potential
consensus between Jewish ethics and the practice of modern psychotherapy, psychology, and psychiatry. Moreover, I have posited specific halakhic models which represent analogies to modern psychotherapeutic principles and practices, which through analogy lend specific halakhic
guidelines to modern practice. The unitary halakhic approach presented here is thus both heuristic--in that it seeks to demonstrate the ways in which psychotherapeutic processes are essentially halakhic ones--as well as practical. Through this approach, psychological theory and practice have been brought into intimate contact with the ethical requirements of the halakhically committed mental health practitioner and his or her patient, filling an inexcusable void in halakhic application to modern technology, and setting a direction for future work in this area.
Spero, a professor of psychology, considers the implications for the practice of modern psychotherapy of a commitment to traditional Jewish religious law (Halakhah). He relates alternative Halakhic ethical models to the values of psychotherapy and posits a unitary Halakhic approach, illustrating its application with specific examples of issues encountered in professional practice.