September 2002, Volume 2, No. 3
Art: Love in search of form
The Source - by Mirtala
Editor's MusingsThe Body: Physical Entity, Bodymind, Bioenergy, and Potential Doorway to Spiritual Awareness
Daniel J. Benor, MD
In conventional medicine, the body is the starting point for addressing most of people's ills. Many in this tradition believe we are the physical products of our genetic inheritance, shaped by the physical environment, and slated - when the physical body releases its hold on life - to end our existence and return to dust. There is no purpose to life other than reproducing the species, plus that which an individual chooses to make of her or his existence.
These assumptions have significant implications for caregivers and careseekers...
TransformationLoving the Unloving
Constance L. Pierce
Have you ever felt like you were on a deserted island with your problems? I was several thousand miles away from home when I received a call that my mother was dying. After trying and trying to get a flight home, I just couldn't. I slumped to the floor crying.
Frankly, my husband and daughter were surprised I was this upset. You see, my mother had been abusive to me my whole life, including the last five years when we'd taken care of her in our home. To some in my family, her dying seemed like a solution to the problem.
ResearchA Survey Estimating the Prevalence and Factors Affecting the Use of Complementary Therapy by Adult Cancer Patients and Their Physicians, in Newfoundland, Canada
Jawaid Younus, MD, MS, MPH, DABIM, FRCPC and Alison Collins, BN, RN, CON(C)
A survey estimating the prevalence and factors affecting the use of complementary therapy by adult cancer patients and their physicians perspectives, in Newfoundland, Canada.
Objectives: Prevalence, characteristics and correlations of complementary therapy (CT) use among adult cancer patients in Newfoundland, and reaction of their physicians towards their CT use.
Illness as Tranformative Gift in People with Fibromyalgia
Shelley Scammell, PsyD
This qualitative study focused on chronic illness as a transformative mechanism to a more authentic self.
Through grounded theory analysis, taped interviews with 8 subjects were coded for process, and 10 components were found to be associated with the central category, "transformation to a more authentic self."
Healees' PerspectivesOne Woman's Journey of Healing: Her Contribution to a Research Project on Changing Notions of Healing
Jane M. Hart, EdD
There are times in the life of a psychotherapist when a single client can propel a healing practice to another level of organization. This is a particularly potent possibility when the therapeutic relationship is a creative partnership where both step into the unknown together. Add to this a call for healing that cannot be ignored. As Jung said, at some point in an individual's life: "The glowing coals of consciousness buried deep within the personality begin to break into flames." Old structures of the self burn away with an intensity that feels capable of obliterating a person's whole reality. Meeting with a client in the midst of that transformative fire can transmute both client and therapist.
Raylene Jackson's Story
Raylene Jackson
I came into my room from our process group (in Enloe Behavioral Health). Monroe (a soft cloth monkey) was sitting on the bed. I asked him how it was going? He seemed to be happy to see me. I moved him to a different position. I felt comfort in doing that and knowing he was there.
Monroe doesn't judge me or talk back to me. He loves me. But I love my unanimated monkey as well. I can control Monroe. But I'm not, nor am I ever, cruel to him or my other things I talk to. He never talks back. He is a very good listener and he never judges me, or criticizes anything I may say or do. He can keep a secret. If I'm in a bad mood, he lets me be. I can hold him tight and squeeze him knowing he understands. I do the same with my dogs. I can't yell at them without feeling bad. If, I do, I get them a cookie.
Wholistic ApproachesDoctoring as a Human Experience: On Developing a Healing Partnership The Doctor's Soul
Ronald Banner, MD
In an earlier article, "Patients' experiences" (Banner 2001), I considered the process (stages) of becoming a patient, that suffering is much more than pain, and explored the subjectivity of decision making by patients. All these point up the need for inputs from patients. These should be our advisors/ counselors/ teachers - these people who have experienced illness and who understand their experiences. These advisors are essential in understanding and improving patient care, as well as in medical education, policy development and research (Reiser 1993). I illustrate the notions presented in this article with the experiences I shared with a patient named Stanley, who had severe and complex illnesses.
The Wilson Effect: A Case for Transpersonal Healing Properties of Placebo
George David Swanson, PhD
The word placebo derives from the Latin phrase "I shall please" (The Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 1974). In modern clinical medicine, the placebo has become known as a pharmacologically inert treatment provided to compare/contrast with an active treatment (e.g. medication, surgery, psychotherapy, healing) in clinical trials (Harrington, 1999). However, in the broader setting of general medical practice, the placebo can take on many guises. Placebos can be sugar pills, saline injections, sham incisions or other physical procedures, even the aura of professionalism created by credentials on the wall, and white coat figures offering words of reassurance.
The Intuitive Manager and Innovation in Healthcare
Leland R. Kaiser, PhD
Few would argue that our health care system is in need of change, but change comes very slowly and has to overcome many resistances. Intuition can facilitate changes that are healing to all levels of our health care system.
Intuition and change
Intuition gives birth to innovation. Innovation results in social and organizational change. Highly intuitive managers promote change by sensing "what could be." By contrast, managers with little intuition resist change by reinforcing "what is." In an absolute sense, "what is" is no more real than "what could be." Either reality is equally available at all times to all healthcare organizations.
Healing Through the Creative ArtsArt- Love in Search of Form An Interview with Mirtala
IJHC Editor
Music is love in search of a word;
Poetry is word in search of form;
Sculpture is love that has found its form.
Wholistic News ReviewsWholistic News Reviews: Traditional, Complementary, Alternative, and Psycho-Social Modalities of Treatment
Larry Lachman, PsyD
Using bright light instead of drugs to treat pregnancy-related depression
Cognitive function in older men linked to testosterone
Survival increases for women between 65 and 85 with vigilant mammography
Acute coronary syndromes helped more with anticoagulants than with aspirin
Acute coronary syndromes helped more with anticoagulants than with aspirin
Nutritional problems with people with cancer
HumorHumor is Healing
IJHC Editor
PoetryIf I Knew
William Grassie
Book ReviewsRaymond G. Helmick, SJ and Rodney L Petersen (eds) . Forgiveness and Reconciliation: Religion, Public Policy, and Conflict Transformation
Franklyn Sills. Craniosacral Biodynamics, Volume One: The Breath of Life, Biodynamics, and Fundamental Skills
Dawn Nelson. From the Heart Through the Hands: The Power of Touch in Caregiving
Sharon Begeley and Michael Reagan. The Hand of God: Thoughts and Images reflecting the Spirit of the Universe
Paul Brenner, MD, PhD. Buddha in the Waiting Room: Simple Truths about Health, Illness, and Healing
Susan Mackey-Kallis. The Hero and the Perennial Journey Home in American Film
Keith Tones and Sylvia Tilford. Health Promotion: Effectiveness, Efficiency and Equity
Burton Silver and Heather Busch. Dancing with Cats
IJHC Editor. Brief Mentions
David Aldridge, PhD. Spirituality, Healing and Medicine: Return to the Silence
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