'Medicine is not merely a science but an art. The character of the physician may act more powerfully upon the patient than the drugs employed'

Paracelsus

(1439-1541)

The above quote from Paracelsus, whom many would credit as a founder of much modern medicine refers to an important and perennial idea that he was privy to many hundreds of years ago; that across the healing arts, from Nursing, Psychotherapy, allopathic and complementary medicine it has been demonstrated again and again that client outcome, change and healing; the transformation of pathology to health is based not only on the technique & the modality used by a practitioner itself, but also on other less concrete, less easily defined and less quantifiable factors.(Kelly, Kraft, Shapiro, Kosswsky & Reiss, 2014)

While we as a society like to think that we have a good understanding of all the factors by which healing occurs, and clear procedural and increasinly technological methods for bringing it about, healing within any one individual still continues to be all to frequently a mystery. Modern medIcine, Psychology and complmentary healing approaches all provide us with a deep well of useful and highly valuable theories and approaches to guide the healers hand, yet regardless of this the facilitation of healing in an individual often stays elusive. Why when a healer applies the same techniques, modality and procedure to clients of similar pathology, do we not obtain reliable experiences of health and healing? Why in comparable clinical situations does the same healer facilitate different outcomes in their clients? And why do some healers applying the same methodological approaches facilitate consistantly better outcomes in their clients?

An explanation for this uncertainty could be discovered in the sheer complexity of the variables that need to interact to bring about a experience of healing in an individual, which include, depending on your particular approach both physiological, psychological & even spiritual components. Increasingly in todays modern medcine the importance and role of the mind and emotion in healing is being increasingly recognised; that which has been known for millenia in the worlds wisdom and folk healing traditions is taking its rightful place among the modern technology and thinking that is ubiquitious in todays health professions.

The fact that until recently in modern medicine the mind had been seen as an irrelevant factor in the healing of the body, is an expression of a deeper fracturing that has occured in our cultures thinking, a cartisian dualism which while providing us with the significant specialisation and technological advances which we all benifit from, exclude the essence of healing at its core, which means literally 'to make whole'. Hence the true process of healing, regardless of the modality and approach used must fundamnetally be holistic and hence intergrate and address all the aspects of an individuals being. The core of achieving this is centred

in almost all circumstances in a helping relationship.

Increasingly research is indicating that the quality of these helping relationships are in and of themselves a significant factor in client outcome and treatment efficacy. This infers that it is not just the 'treatment' applied by the therapist or practitioner that is the healing force bur rather that something goes on in the relationship betweeen people that can have not only psychological effects, but also specific physiological implications for the treatment and remission of disease. So what are these qualities of a relationship that are inherently healing and what are the mechanisms by which this occurs? This is a complex set of questions for which people have provided many different explanations, yet one that is of particular interest is the concept of 'healing presence'. This is the idea that there are particular internal qualities, states and inner experiences of the therapist that can facilitate healing in the client or patient, more specifically it is a concept that is desribed as being an

'interpersonal, intrapersonal, transpersonal and transendant phenomena that leads to a benificial, theraputic, and positive spiritual change within another individual(Healee) and within the healer'

(McDonough-Means, Kreitzer & Bell, 2004 p25)

Have you ever been with a healer, therapist or medical practitioner, or a person in another context where just being with them helped you feel better, where just their presence was some how calming, energising and transforming, where you experienced some shift in state that seemed to have no relationship with the acts they performed? Take some time and get a sense for this experience, what was it about them that made the difference, what was it in your experience of them that supported this to occur?

So this begs the question, what exactly is healing presence, what are its qualities, is it best understood from a transpersonal perspective or rather can we understand it from a more rationalist and emperical view point, and importantly can it be learnt and replicated or is it some innate quality or gift?

The fundamental question being; can we become healing presences in our day to day lives for others? and if so how can this be cultivated?

These are questions that we will address in future posts, yet for now I will leave you with a quote that reaches to the core of the transpersonal ideas regarding healing presence which Prendergast (2003) refers to as the sacred mirror:

'By sharing our experience of nondual awareness without words or effort, we invite the people with whom we’re in relationship to entrain or attune to this experience themselves. As we rest in a state that is free of all ambition, the energy of serenity naturally transfers from one person to another like two bells resonating together. In nondual therapy, much of the work occurs through this process of energetic entrainment.'

Peter Fenner (2007a, 125)

References

Kelly, JM. Kraft, T. Shapiro, I. Kossowsky J. Reiss, H.(2014) The influence of patient -clinician relationship on healthcare outcomes: A systematic review & meta-analysis of randomised controllled trials. PLoS ONE 9(4): 94207.doi 10.137/journal.pore.0094207

McDonborough-Means, S. Kritzer, M. Bell, R. (2004) Fostering Healing presence & investigating its Mediators' Journal of Alternative & complementary medicine 2004; 10 (Supp) s25-s41.

Prendergast, J; Fenner, P; Sheha, Krystal(2003) Sacred Mirror: Non-dual Wisdom in Psychotherapy

Fenner, P(2007) Radiant Mind

Geller, S; Greenberg, L (2012) Theraputic Presence: A mindful approach to effective Therapy. American psychological association publishing, Washington DC.

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