Dr. Rindy D. van Z. Bakker                

...most physicians are...uncomfortable with, even hostile to, various alternative therapies. These therapies simply open up too many possibilities to think about...It is expecting too much of a physician to ask him to be competent at all the diagnostic and therapeutic modalities of establishment medicine and at the same time to have an "open mind" about any new nonestablishment therapies...
                                            -- James S Goodwin & Jean M Goodwin

About eighteen months ago I gingerly floated the idea of working with a healer at one of our practice meetings. To my surprise my three partners and the rest of the staff were all delighted and within weeks Hillary Morgan was "in post". She sits in with me during one surgery a week. During these we suggest to patients whom we think are suitable to attend her healing sessions. To date we have not had any refusals and Hillary and Sheila, our other healer, see up to twenty patients a week.

When the new GP contract was introduced in April 1990, we arranged with our local FHSA to reimburse our healers through the Health Promotion scheme - five patients per session. We were grateful that our forward thinking FHSA allowed us to do this, and at present are also funding Complementary Therapists for Homoeopathy, Acupuncture, Hypnosis, Manipulation, Osteopathy and Counselling through this scheme. The regulations have recently been tightened and all sessions have to be attended by the full quota of patients. If there are any defaulters we cannot claim for the session but still have to pay the therapist and thus lose the full fee.

How and who do we refer to Complementary Therapists? Doctors are trained in the scientific method where proof is essential before we decide about any "new" treatment. This is lacking in most Complementary Therapies. The next best thing is to have some knowledge or experience of the therapy - either as a participant or as a practitioner. In my practice we have doctors with experience of homoeopathy, acupuncture, hypnosis, manipulation and counselling. With the other therapies we use the "feed-back and look-see" principle, also called "the proof of the pudding is in the eathing". That is, we see the patients after a course of treatment and assess their improvement or lack of same.

We are convinced that the range of therapies that are offered to our patients benefits them. Very few object. Most are delighted. A few come to ask for these and some are surprised and disappointed if they are refused.
 

You may quote from or reproduce these editorial clips if you include the following credits and email contact:
Copyright © Daniel J. Benor, M.D. 1992 Reprinted with permission of the author P.O. Box 76 Bellmawr, NJ 08099
www.WholisticHealingResearch.com   DB@WholisticHealingResearch.com 

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