Spiritual Pathways to Healing: An Integration of Alcoholics Anonymous’s Twelve Steps and Ramchal’s Mesilat Yesharim in Contemporary Therapeutic Practice

This article explores the profound convergence between two seemingly disparate spiritual frameworks: the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzatto’s (Ramchal) Mesilat Yesharim (Path of the Upright). Through systematic analysis of their structural parallels, philosophical foundations, and therapeutic applications, this study demonstrates how these models offer complementary approaches to healing that transcend their original contexts. Drawing from clinical experience in integrative healing spaces, this work presents a unified framework for understanding spiritual recovery that can inform contemporary therapeutic practice. The synthesis reveals universal principles of human transformation that operate across cultural and religious boundaries, offering practitioners a deeper understanding of the spiritual dimensions of healing and recovery.

Keywords: Spiritual Healing, Twelve Steps, Mesilat Yesharim, Integrative Therapy, Jewish Ethics, Addiction Recovery, Therapeutic Spirituality, Ramchal, Spiritual Development, Character Refinement, Divine Providence, Moral Inventory, Teshuvah, Higher Power, Recovery Fellowships