There are other therapies that are a bit less popular when it comes to people believing in their ability to heal or not. Healing touch is one therapy that is well-known but also not fully understood. Healing touch is a complicated idea that incorporates the idea of energy fields being vital to our body’s functions. Universal life energy flows through our bodies. We become ill when there is a blockage existing our bodies. It is not just a practice that focuses on healing the body but also works on improving the mind and spirit of the individual (Hart, et al., 2011, pg. 520). A person’s body cannot self-heal if their energy isn’t quite right so it is important the patient keeps an open mind instead of doubting the practice. Although healing …show more content…
The purpose of hospice is to make sure the individual is comfortable and pain free. That is why many hospice organizations use alternative therapies to help their patient’s establish a greater quality of life. Treatments for the person do not have to be as complicated as healing touch. Sometimes they are as simple as getting massages by a volunteer or having a harpist play for them. Each therapy helps with various needs of the patient. For those who get massages, it helps with back pain but also lets the person relax. Music therapy sooths the patient but also studies show that it improves cognitive health. Pet therapy creates a greater sense of happiness in the patients. This feeling cannot be matched from simply laying in a hospital bed all …show more content…
Many problems can arise when a patient does both medical treatments, like chemotherapy, along with a complimentary therapy. The two most likely can co-exist with each other but only if the patient’s medical care provider has approved the therapy. According to the previous article I used called, Introduction to Complementary, Alternative, and Traditional Therapies “nearly two-thirds of CAM users have reported not discussing their use with their physicians” (Kramlich, 2014, pg. 51). Patients may decide to hold back the information because they fear disapproval from their doctor or that their complementary therapy is irreverent when it comes to their care. This is a problem because the doctor needs to know of every form of treatment the patient is going through whether, it is a supplement they are taking or having acupuncture done on them for headaches; each therapy must be noted. This can lead to potential harm to the patient. Complimentary therapy can cancel out the effects of chemotherapy doing its job in killing the cancer cell in the body (Smith, et al., 2014, pg. 5). The patient will then continue to have dissatisfaction with their medical treatments because they are not working and only causing the person to become more
God tells his children, “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation). Death is one of the most frightening and confusing times a person can go through. Watching a loved one pass away is also one of the hardest trials a person can experience. Many people assume that death is a time of pain and the only thing that they can do is mourn and watch their loved one fade away from the earth. This is wrong. There are ways that people can turn a bad situation to good. Dying doesn’t have to be painful and full of suffering. The County Hospice staff makes sure of this. The Hospice staff not only takes care of passing patients physically, but they also take care of the patients emotionally and spiritually. Hospice staff also plays a key role in helping families during the grieving process.
Palliative care is medical or comfort care that reduces the severity of a disease or slows its progress, but does not provide a cure (Dreeben, 2007). Different people have different needs when life is ending. Working with the incurable may sound depressing but death is a certainty and what we do each day for these patients as physical therapist assistants, matters. Providing care effectively and appropriately has a huge impact on the patient, therefore acquiring the ability to comfort and care for a patient at such a critical stage in life, is an amazin...
Hospice always patient and families the automaty to decide a choice of end of life care. It allows who prefer to end life in their homes, pain free, surrounded by family and loved ones: Hospice works to make this happen. The focus in on caring, not curing. Hospice utilizes an interdisciplinary team of healthcare professionals and trained volunteers that address symptom control, pain management, and emotional and spiritual support expressly tailored to the patient's needs and wishes. Hospice is not “giving up,” nor is it a form of euthanasia or physician assisted
Some clients who have experienced trauma are particularly sensitive to issues related to touch and loss of control. Healing Touch treatments can be done without physical contact and provides the client with a choice about when and how much touch is
Kolcaba, K., Dowd, T., Steiner, R., & Mitzel, A. (2004). Efficacy of hand massage for enhancing the comfort of hospice patients. Journal of Hospice & Palliative Nursing, 6(2), 91-102. Retrieved from http://ehis.ebscohost.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=12&sid=2de162ef-afff-4a48-8415-83dcedf9530a%40sessionmgr110&hid=104
Touch is as essential to a healthy and happy life as eating right, getting proper sleep, and exercising. With the world growing more technological, the need for healthy human contact is more important than ever. Massage and body therapies are an age old healing refuge for us in this fast-paced, stressed-out world. The practice of massage therapy is rapidly growing in the United States. It has so much to offer and is becoming more widely accepted by doctors and the general public. Massage is touching another person by such movements as rubbing, kneading, pressing, rolling, slapping, and tapping. This type of therapy provides circulation of the blood and lymph, relaxation of muscles, relief from pain, restoration of metabolic balance, and many other benefits both physical and mental. There is much historical evidence to indicate that massage is one of the earliest remedies for pain relief and for the restoration of a healthy body. It is said to be the most natural and instinctive means of relieving pain and discomfort. Massage has proven to be an effective method for treating many conditions for thousands of years and it will continue to be used for thousands of years to come. Massage therapy is a great treatment for the body and soul.
According to Sandra Augustyn Lawton in Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Teens, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can be defined as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered to be part of conventional medicine” (Lawton, 2007, p.3). Although complementary and alternative medicines are often interpreted as the same thing, complementary methods are used in coordination with conventional methods and alternative methods are used in place of conventional methods of medicine (Lawton, 2007, p.3). Another method used is integrative medicine, which uses conventional medicine and CAM together because there is proven scientific evidence to support that the treatment plan is safe and effective (Lawton, 2007, p.3). Complementary and alternative medicines are used throughout the world in many different countries, some more specifically than others.
Throughout time, mankind has persistently been seeking ways to maintain their health and to cure those that had not been so fortunate in that task. Just about everything has been experimented with as a cure for some type of illness; whether physical, spiritual or mental. There has always been evidence of spiritual healing and it will continue to be an important part of any healing process, large or small.
Ross defines and differentiates between the terms healing and curing. She recognizes the fact that healing and curing are very intertwined and it can be hard to distinguish between the two terms. There are differences between the definitions in scholarly and general settings. She references an ethnographic study of healing versus curing conducted by anthropologists Andrew Strathern and Pamela Stewart in 1999 with native groups in New Guinea. The results of the study looked at how energy used by the different types of tribal healers to either cure or heal a patient. Eastern medicine focuses on how energy interacts with the healing process in connection within the mind. Whereas Western medicine is focused on the mind and the body separately. The practice is considered a holistic approach to finding cures. According to Ross (2013), healing is more a therapeutic process targeting the whole body and specific illness including emotional, mental, and social aspects in the treatment. The act of curing is a pragmatic approach that focuses on removing the problem all together. The life experiences of a person playing into how well certain treatments will heal or cure what is ailing them. These aspects can not be defined with textbook definitions. The interaction that the healing process has with energy is a variable in the success rate. Uncontrolled emotions can have a greater impact on the inside the body than a person can realize. The exploration of energy interaction within the body can be used for greater analysis of health care systems. (21-22). Are Western healthcare facilities purposely “curing” patients just so that they return are few years later? Is Western Medicine built upon a negative feedback loop? The terminolo...
Palliative care involves the holistic care to maintain and improve the quality of life of the patient and family during hospitalisation until the terminal stage. Palliation of care refers to the multidisciplinary approach of providing comfort and support for the terminally ill patient and family, thus has an important role in maintaining and improving the quality of life of the whole family. Chronic illness such as cancer gives a physiologic and emotional burden for the patient and family. Education and counselling of the possible options as well as treatments for pain and other symptoms that could help alleviate anxiety, suffering and discomfort. Palliative care provides assistance for the family as a channel for communication between the
Derived from several ancient healing practices, therapeutic touch is based on the theory of human energy fields - every person has an energy field that surrounds the entire body. During therapeutic touch treatment, practitioners use their hands, without actually touching the person, to re-establish a healthy energy flow. Therapeutic touch seeks to restore balance within the body while also stimulating the patient's own healing response. The practice of therapeutic touch is used worldwide in thousands of hospitals, clinics, and private practices. It is an easily learned, successful complement to other healing programs.
“Integration is a method of utilising more than one theory in the belief that by combining or integrating these theories the chance of a successful outcome for the client is increased.”
Many of our finest researchers and scientists have explored that question, and while the exact answer still eludes us, the facts seem to bear out that the mind does have the power to assist in both healing, and conversely, bringing on "disease" as well. Two such examples of mind and body healing are hypnotherapy and meditation. There are others such as ionization, which focuses on thinking positive instead of negative.
The societal acceptance and popularity of complementary and alternative medicine contains many facets of reason. The values that CAM embodies and the gaps in traditional medicine it is able to fill both contribute to its high rates of success in the past decades. However, its growing appeal to both the economic and political forces that drive our country has given CAM the leverage it needs to become an intrinsic part of the medical world.
Health is considered a complete wellness of a body including physical, mental and social well-being and Holistic Health is considered a wellness of a whole body including mind, body and spirit. According to American Holistic Medicine Association “Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses the whole person – body, mind and spirit” (Wollumbin, page 3). Holistic Health is an alternate way to treat, prevent, and wellness of an illness and achieves the best possible level of health. It focuses on the whole body rather than just symptoms or diseases. It is an approach to heal the physical, psychological, environmental, spiritual, nutritional health of one’s being. For each individual, the definition of holistic health is different and in simple words it is an alternate way of treatment where physical, mental, emotional and spiritual works equally together to attain a health. In western medicine, standard treatment is given with drugs or surgery according to symptoms or diseases or injuries where a doctor or a physician determines the ways of treatment and the patient has to follow the recommendations. Whereas, holistic health is a complete opposite way to treat the illness where patients cooperate in their illnesses, take the responsibility of their treatments, make their own decision for own level of well-being and thoroughly participate in their health care plan.