September 2001, Volume 1, No. 1 (FREE)

Editor's Musings

Healee's Perspectives

Research

Prayer and spiritual healing have been researched over the last forty years. Spiritual awareness, a neglected aspect of much of this research, is finding its way into clinical practice in treatment of a variety of problems. It is a challenge to use spiritual healing in a wholistic and ethical manner.

This preliminary study examines the adjunctive use of flower essence therapy in the treatment of mild to moderate major depression. Flower essence therapy is similar to homeopathy in that it involves the ingesting of a substance which is physically dilute, but energetically active. Flower essences were prepared from a solar infusion of the fresh blossoms of plants.

Twelve patients from 4 clinics around the United States were offered one month of "usual care," followed by three months of usual care plus flower essence therapy. Usual care for 11 of the 12 patients entailed psychotherapy, while 1 patient was offered nutritional support and counseling. The flower essence therapy was individualized and 60 different essences were used, with a mean of 8 flower essences given to a patient.

The results of this study were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the Hamilton Depressions Scale (HAMD). A time series analysis of the data was conducted using an ANOVA for repeated measures. The first month of usual care showed the BDI and HAMD to be unchanged. Flower essence therapy produced significant reductions of approximately 50% in both indices.

The results strongly suggest that flower essences may be used adjunctively to facilitate the resolution of mild to moderate depression.

Healing Approaches

Spiritual healing in the past twenty-five years has evolved from a model in which healers could heal with the instantaneous power of their touch, to a model in which healers facilitate the awakening of a person’s inner healer. This shift in the awareness and practice of spiritual healing can today be seen in almost all modalities of energy healing, from a simple laying-on-of-hands to Reiki, bodywork, acupuncture, meditation and guided imagery. It is a change in consciousness from a focus on the power of the healer to the empowerment of the inner healer that has revolutionized the interface between medicine and holistic health.

Unusually potent methods for healing in psychotherapy were developed by Dr Dorothea von Stumpfeldt of Berlin and elaborated by the other authors of this paper. These methods, called EmotionalBodyProcess by their originator, introduce imagery of love, healing, forgiveness, and acceptance through which you can be guided to address your problems. Both physical and psychological problems may improve very rapidly with these methods.

Healing in Diverse Cultures

Wholistic Approaches

My mother started training to be a lay midwife (now called certified professional midwives) in 1984, shortly after the birth of my youngest sister, (who was born at home). By the late 80's my mother was knee-deeply involved in the Association of Texas Midwives and spent many weeks in Austin for many years working on the regulation of the practice of midwifery in the state of Texas. Until last week I thought of epidurals as purely evil. (It is not that all midwives oppose epidurals, but my mother taught natural childbirth classes for a decade before entering midwifery, so I never heard a positive word regarding epidurals leave her mouth). The experience of midwives has been that epidurals slow labor down and are unnecessary when other approaches are taken to the birthing experience and pain.

Here we face the age old problem of not imposing one's own values on others. But especially in terms of the patient/doctor relationship because there is definitely a power imbalance there, how to not take advantage of that in oppressive and imposing ways.

I'd like to think that a doctor's role is to empower her patient to take control of her own health. If you learn how to empower another person then you will have less chance of abusing the power imbalance.

Wholistic News Reviews

Healing with Food

Healing Through the Creative Arts

What was his guiding inner sense? As I had explored art as my life's calling, I sought answers to this question in anthropology and psychology, traditional cultures and spiritual practices to understand what was going on.

Humor