Ben Levi:
You compare apples with oranges, and this is illogical. Therapists deal with the casualties of the system, and these have been growing steadily. The “professionals” have not been permitted to influence the “system”, since your rabbonim consider their Torah-consistent ideas treif. So our yeshivos continue with practices that are NOT mesorah, NOT scientific, and are wrecking our youth. Those who provide the guidance to young people prior to marriage are from the “system”, not professionals. Therapists have many shattered lives to repair when this holy guidance and direction fails. Professionals have contributed nothing to this. They are expected to fix the damage later. You are correct – there are some professionals who do not succeed. But the tide is against them, and they did NOT make that tide.
Every professional I know (many) has a decent track record of successes. Ask them how many of their cases are casualties of rabbonim, chosson/kallah teachers, educators, etc. who messed up badly by assuming they could handle matters beyond their domain and skills. I am not addressing the non-Jewish population, and I frankly care little about them at the moment.
You blame the JO articles. They are unrelated to the problem. It did not introduce professionals into the fabric of our society. They were already here. And there are many Torah guided training programs since that time. The frum professionals (hundreds of them) are under Torah guidance all the time. Ask them. Visit a Nefesh Conference, meet them, talk to them, instead of your assumptions and failed generalities.
The academic practices we need to advocate for are precisely those that existed in the days of real melamdim. Individual attention. Focus on developing cheshek for Torah and Avodas Hashem. De-emphasis of discipline, which was intended to be the last resort. Role modeling. Chanoch lenaar al pi darko. All dictates of the Torah Hakedosha, not goyishe professionals. Our chinuch “system” fails dismally in this. Check the latest seforim on chinuch. They are fabulous. Now examine our mosdos, and assess how many of the menahalim and mechanchim have developed expertise in these seforim. Not in educational psychology, but in seforim. The percentage is microscopic. How many yeshivos require training, yes, Torah based training, as a pre-requisite to be a melamed? Answer, zero. I’m aware that there are yeshivos that consider the training programs Aish Dos (Torah Umesorah) a disqualification, and they reject anyone that has this training. And, it is fully endorsed by gedolei Yisroel.
Chasunah Takanos? That will save the world. Come on. I don’t challenge the need for this, but this has nothing to do with the failures of marriages and yeshivos. Get real.
A therapist needs to show successes, but not in the world scene. he does not treat it. He treats the client in his office, and needs to be successful with the yechidim that seek his help. And B”H this has worked rather well. Therapists pump out the water, they cannot stop the flood. That needs to be done by the kehillos and the gedolim that lead them. Chasunah Takanos will not solve that.
I’m not missing the points at all. I have not answered some questions, but some have no easy answers. But you missed my points completely.