I am in desperate need of a genuine Torah Hashkafah and Psak regarding an issue which is threatening to destroy our marriage and our family. My 7 year old son Aryeh Shimon ben Rochel has severe mental illness and has been hospitalized twice in the past two years. The diagnosis during his last hospitalization two months ago was bi-polar/schizophrenic. We have started with a new psychiatrist who is very empathetic and experienced and prescribed new medication. My wife feels that the conventional medical approach is "killing our son" (because of possible toxic side efects). She unilaterally has gone ahead and enlisted the assistance of a "medical intuitive"(ie.psychic) who makes outlandish claims (he stated he has just cured someone of cancer). He sated that just by talking to my wife on the phone he could tell that I have "live" cancer cells in my body and that my son has mould in his room which is contributing to his mental illness. His vaccinations as a child also is a cause. The craziest thing is that he claimed there is an demon on my sons back and when he came to our house he claimed to have removed it. (Needless to say my son still has his fears and insecurities). The "medical intuitive" makes no claims to believe in G-d (He looks like the average secular guy). On the contrary he stated "I cured myself and I cured this person with…). The story goes on but this is the issue in a nutshell. He claims to be able to see the energy fields and able to balance them, and this is how he cures, together with certain homeopathic drops and change in diet. My wife is very gullible and is so desperate to see my son healed (we have tried so many alternative and complimentary healing methods in the past as well as different conventional drugs)that she will believe anything. Where do I go from here and what do I tell my wife the Torah says.

It is, of course, impossible to give a definitive response to your question without hearing both sides of the story. Generally, there is no such thing as a "Psak" concerning alternative medicine. Certainly, if the healer you speak of is a charlatan, it makes no difference what type of medicine or spirituality he practices. But your problem, or at least the solution, lies in other directions. The real problem is the breakdown of communication between your wife and yourself. For this you need serious counselling, possibly rabbinic but certainly professional. If your wife acted unilatterally, it reflects an inability to communicate with one another. I do not condone such an action, nor can I judge it without hearing its roots. I suggest finding a mode of arbitration along with marriage counselling. The sooner husband and wife put their relationship together, the sooner your son will benefit from proper care, whatever that may be.