Healing, Intention, and Energy Medicine: Science, Research Methods and Clinical Implications

by Wayne Jonas MD and Cindy Crawford BA (editors)

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Churchill Livingstone, 2003  

Reviewed by Eric Leskowitz, MD

Whenever the topic of energy healing comes up in a conversation with an allopathic medical colleague, the conversational arc is typically determined by an awkward interaction between interest and fear. As long as my pro-healing perspective is presented with a minimum of jargon and a maximal emphasis on objective findings, my colleagues listen intently (for there now seems to be a large reservoir of curiosity about these phenomena among the uninitiated, in pleasant contrast to the outright hostility that used to accompany such inquiries as recently as 10 or 5 years ago). However, as these discussions gain momentum and veer close to the brink of embracing truly weird or apparently inexplicable phenomena like energy healing or intercessory prayer, a sort of allopathic fear reflex kicks in. The conversations will then retreat back into a compromise position, when my colleague reminds us both that we really should wait until adequate studies are done before making up our minds about this subject. Up until recently, I have had no adequate response, aside from quoting the details of a few favorite studies which I had become familiar with, and making reference to Dr. Dan Benor's magnum opus, a compendium of studies, abstracts and analyses called Spiritual Healing: Scientific Validation of a Healing Revolution (Southfield, MI: Vision Publications, 2001)

However, a recently published book called Healing, Intention and Energy Medicine: Science, Research Methods and Clinical Implications (Churchill Livingstone, 2003) has permanently changed the landscape of the field. This impressive collection of 22 review articles brings together an array of perspectives that allows students of the field to find under one cover everything from statistics to clinical data to understanding mainstream prejudices against these approaches, all accompanied by a massive bibliography of well over 2000 references. The focus of the book is a little narrower than its title implies - "energy medicine" here does not refer to the entire range of treatments that involve so-called subtle energy; energy-based modalities like acupuncture and homeopathy are not addressed here. The emphasis is on approaches like Therapeutic Touch and intercessory prayer.

The book's organization is a strong point, with 4 major sections devoted to:

1) critical summaries of current research on healing (13 chapters on such topics as intercessory prayer, remote viewing, and bioenergy healing);

2) methods and challenges for research on healing (9 chapters on topics like statistical issues in healing research, randomized clinical trials, and the social dynamics involved as healing research enters the mainstream);

3) an annotated bibliography of clinical research on healing (focused assessments of 63 representative studies that quantitatively rate each study along the dimensions of internal, external and model validity);

4) an amazingly comprehensive bibliography of spiritual healing, energy medicine, and intentionality research that includes 259 books and over 2200 published reports - 122 laboratory studies, 80 randomized controlled trials, 128 reviews, 95 reports of non-randomized studies, 271 descriptive studies and 1268 commentaries, critiques, and letters.

Some quibbles. The rating scales in Section 3 are not fully explained, especially regarding how the actual numerical subtotals are tallied within each of the four validity domains. So it's a bit hard to know how to compare two studies in more than a grossly qualitative way, especially as the results are sometimes reported as percentages, other times as raw numbers - i.e., is a study rated at 50.3 truly one third poorer than a study scoring 75.2? Nevertheless, it was fun to search through these comprehensive ratings to see how old favorites stacked up - the Byrd intercessory prayer study did well (all subscales over 65), while I was disappointed to see that Wirth's Therapeutic Touch/wound healing classic wasn't included in this section. I did feel an excitement that reminded me of looking through the list of batting averages in the Sunday Sports Section to see if Nomar was still leading the league in hitting.

This book is not geared for clinicians so much as for researchers and educators in the field of CAM in general, and energy medicine in particular. For them, this book is indispensable. The editors and contributors are to be commended for this important opus, especially its comprehensive depth of coverage and its consistently high quality of analysis. Anyone interested in knowing the state of the art regarding some of the most unusual and challenging forms of treatment being used today, and any energy practitioner or CAM practitioner who is looking for some factual backup should have this work within easy reach.


Eric Leskowitz, MD
Pain Management Program
Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
125 Nashua St.
Boston Ma 02114
Email: Rleskowitz@pol.net

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