Meditative Kabbalah (Merkavah, Hekhalot, Lurianism)

The oldest contemplative tradition of Western monotheism, meditative Kabbalah is first and foremost a spiritual path of knowledge of God and inner transformation, not a therapy in the modern sense. Its structuring principles are the ten Sefirot organized in the tree of life, the four worlds, the centrality of the twenty-two Hebrew letters, Devekut (cleaving to the divine), Tikkun olam (repair of the world) and the kavanot (intentions). Its techniques range from Aboulafia's permutation of letters to the visualization of the Sefirot, the Lurianic kavanot and fervent Hasidic prayer. The author stresses that no rigorous scientific study attests to its therapeutic effectiveness; outside a confessional framework, it amounts at best to a contemplative spirituality (bereavement, search for meaning, life transitions) to be articulated with conventional medical follow-up.

This therapy is covered in detail (principles, indications, protocol, level of evidence) in Volume 8 of the Mémento des Psychothérapies. See the volume.