Kabbalah: Is it a kind of therapy?

Will Parfitt

There are many different kinds of therapies, and different aspects of all their practices may be related to the Tree of Life. Whatever the school or type of therapy, whether a talk-only type or one using hand-on techniques, there are three basic aspects to their practices. These are the principles behind the work (The Supernal Triad), the relationship between the therapist and patient or client (the soul triangle) and the methods and techniques used (the bottom triangle.)

To take psychotherapy as an example, through relating psychotherapeutic practice to the Tree of Life we can better understand the processes involved. Of course, there are many different schools of therapy but, generally, psychotherapists do not judge, although they may interpret (Hod); they do not lead, although they may challenge (Yesod); they do not touch, although they do offer support (Malkuth); and they work alongside the unfolding process of their clients, trusting in what manifests as being right for that person at that time (Netzach). Psychotherapists also generally work within the container of the therapeutic space, using the time of the session to be in deep relationship with their client (Tiphareth), involved and witnessing at the same time.

Using the Tree of Life, a therapist can truly work in an integrative way, and not just offer a hotchpotch of borrowed techniques. The Kabbalah is the perfect model or map for this work for, through its simplicity and clarity, it can act as a central synthesising agent for methods and techniques, other systems, maps and models of consciousness development. Whatever methods are used, however, the principles behind the therapy remain basically the same. There is an attempt to share in an experiential understanding of the relationship between the therapist and client. The use of the Kabbalah as a tool in psychotherapy allows the practitioner to develop his or her own style in accord with universal principles, develop relationship in line with these principles, and apply techniques where and as appropriate to each relationship.

Different methods of psychotherapy concentrate on different aspects of the process. For example, Jungian therapists usually work up to Daath, concentrating on the dynamic between Chesed and Geburah (love and will archetypes) through the medium of dream analysis (Hod and Yesod). Traditional psychoanalysis works with the lower Tree, attempting to normalise the personality (and at its worse denying the deeper or higher aspects of the psyche). This is the opposite pole from the worst forms of transpersonal therapies which work up to Daath or above but not down into Yesod or Malkuth, potentially leaving their clients spiritually connected but totally ungrounded. The differences between approaches become clearer when related to the Tree of Life, which then offers us the possibility of integrating them so the common purpose becomes more apparent.

To use the Kabbalah as a tool in therapeutic work, whether counselling, psychotherapy or other forms of one-to-one or group healing, it is vital the therapist has someone who can work with them in a supervisory capacity, to help them see what is going on in the work in terms of the model being used. If no such person is available then you can supervise yourself, but the work will lack the holding and challenging functions that are possible when working with the help of another.

Of most importance is the awareness of where and how you and your client are relating or not in terms of the different planes of the Tree which represent different aspects of the psyche. For therapy to work it is important to be working on creating relationship at all times; to be establishing 'mindfulness' or focus; to make space for the individual experience of the client and the unfolding experience of his or her relationship with the practitioner. The diagram helps show how some of the major issues in such work correspond to the Tree of Life. Through study of the Kabbalah, a therapist could apply the understanding gained for working with groups and individuals.


First published in the Conjunction Journal, 2005.



Will Parfitt is a UKCP registered psychotherapist and an experienced and innovative group leader. Trained in Psychosynthesis, he has more than forty years experience of working with psychospiritual development, and travels internationally to run courses on a variety of subjects including kabbalah and psychosynthesis. Will is author of several books including 'The Complete Guide to Kabbalah', 'The Something and Nothing of Death', 'Kabbalah:The Tree of Life' and 'Psychosynthesis: the Elements and Beyond.