| 'You don't really believe these bizarre
| |
| | mine puts them in touch with the fact
|
| techniques work, do you?' This or other
| |
| | that they are not as convinced as they
|
| similar often less polite comments are
| |
| | think they are that the therapy does not
|
| common responses when we try to convince
| |
| | work. If they were really as certain as
|
| our more sceptical and scientific friends
| |
| | they claim then they would be happy to do
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| and acquaintances about the power and
| |
| | this because they would know that I
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| efficacy of our favourite alternative and
| |
| | couldn't possibly make them ill.Many
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| complementary therapies. Many of us are
| |
| | doctors only ever meet our failures. I
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| left floundering in the face of the
| |
| | once met a doctor who claimed that
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| superiority of their total conviction in
| |
| | osteopathy was dangerous on the grounds
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| their rightness. Over the years I have
| |
| | that his patients who had been to see one
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| developed several different approaches to
| |
| | had come back to him in more pain. I
|
| the sceptic. I do not use all these
| |
| | pointed out to him that if the
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| approaches at the same time, but try to
| |
| | osteopathic treatment had been successful
|
| assess which approach will work. If one
| |
| | then his patients would not have come
|
| tactic doesn't work, then I try another
| |
| | back to him. Similarly, complementary
|
| approach. My success is not 100% but I
| |
| | therapists only tend to see the disasters
|
| have managed to convince many sceptics
| |
| | of allopathic medicine. Many of my
|
| and hostile scientists to take a second
| |
| | clients complain to me of their doctors'
|
| look at these ideas and therapies. Some
| |
| | insensitivity and ignorance. I always
|
| of these original sceptics have become my
| |
| | remind myself that there are many people
|
| greatest supporters and have, in turn,
| |
| | who are satisfied with conventional
|
| managed to convince many other people to
| |
| | medicine and the treatment they receive:
|
| consider these therapies.Sceptics often
| |
| | they are so satisfied that they do not
|
| see the success as being purely
| |
| | come to see me.Even if sceptics admit
|
| attributable to a placebo effect. It is
| |
| | that people are genuinely getting well
|
| argued that because people believe that
| |
| | they will often dismiss the therapies
|
| it will work it does. In fact many of the
| |
| | because we cannot adequately explain how
|
| people who come to me say they find it
| |
| | it works. I offer the following story to
|
| very hard to believe that it will work.
| |
| | these people. Many years ago when one of
|
| Some clients ask incredulously: 'Can this
| |
| | my sons was small we were travelling to
|
| really work?' or 'Is that it?' Other
| |
| | my parents' house to celebrate their
|
| clients have told me that they have
| |
| | Golden Wedding Anniversary. My son had
|
| walked out after the first visit
| |
| | been entranced by our preparations: the
|
| convinced they have just wasted their
| |
| | golden presents being wrapped in golden
|
| time and their money, only to find that
| |
| | paper. On the journey we stopped at a
|
| they do get better, that their symptoms
| |
| | motorway service station and he picked up
|
| do diminish and that they feel happier
| |
| | a packet of Durex Gold condoms. 'What are
|
| and healthier than they have for a long
| |
| | these?' he asked curiously (obviously
|
| time. It's not a very good placebo if so
| |
| | wanting to know whether this would be a
|
| many people are so unimpressed by it!
| |
| | good additional present for Grandma and
|
| Small babies and children respond to
| |
| | Granddad). 'Condoms,' I replied. 'What
|
| kinesiology and other therapies very
| |
| | are they for?' was the inevitable next
|
| well. A 6-week old baby was brought to
| |
| | question. 'They are things that men put
|
| see me because she was failing to thrive.
| |
| | on their willies to stop ladies having
|
| She was sick every time she was fed and
| |
| | babies,' I told him. He gave me a very
|
| was losing weight much to the concern of
| |
| | hard look to make certain that I really
|
| her parents and the medical profession.
| |
| | meant this bizarre statement and then he
|
| The mother had tried various baby milk
| |
| | shook his head and said: 'Strange, very
|
| formulas (including soya-based ones) to
| |
| | strange.'Of course, to him the idea that
|
| no avail. I found that the baby was
| |
| | men wearing something could stop women
|
| allergic to the tap water that her mother
| |
| | having babies was bizarre, because he
|
| used to make up the formulas. We changed
| |
| | lacked a vital piece of information that
|
| the tap water source and used some
| |
| | made sense of this statement. The
|
| homeopathic treatment and the baby
| |
| | situation with many complementary
|
| responded immediately. This can hardly
| |
| | therapies is bizarre precisely because we
|
| be attributed to a placebo effect,
| |
| | lack information that would make sense of
|
| particularly as the baby slept through
| |
| | it. It is the job of the scientific
|
| the whole procedure, only waking as she
| |
| | community to provide this information.
|
| was leaving my office. Even if it were a
| |
| | Their model cannot explain the undoubted
|
| placebo, I have a placebo that works in
| |
| | success of much alternative medicine. It
|
| many instances where conventional
| |
| | is not sufficient (or scientific) to call
|
| medicine has failed.The most direct way
| |
| | the therapies bizarre and unscientific.
|
| to convince a sceptic is, of course, to
| |
| | It is necessary to find a model that
|
| improve his/her health using these
| |
| | makes sense of these therapies. The
|
| techniques. Some years a man came to see
| |
| | inadequacy is on the part of the
|
| me about the severe arthritis he had in
| |
| | scientific community that cannot explain
|
| his knees. Although he was only in his
| |
| | kinesiology and many other successful and
|
| 30's and an ambitious man he was only
| |
| | increasingly popular therapies. It is not
|
| able to work part-time because he was in
| |
| | on the part of therapists who are busy
|
| such pain. During the initial
| |
| | helping people to get better and heal
|
| conversation he told me that I would not
| |
| | themselves.Many of the sceptics are
|
| be able to help him. I was surprised at
| |
| | implicitly arguing that medicine is
|
| this and asked him why he had come to see
| |
| | scientific, rigorously assessed (with
|
| me. He told me that both his wife and his
| |
| | double blind trials etc.), but this is
|
| neighbour were clients of mine. Whenever
| |
| | far from the truth. For example, saliva
|
| he complained about the pain in his knees
| |
| | swabs were taken from 12,000 children
|
| they would 'nag' him to come and see me.
| |
| | whose GP's had diagnosed that they had
|
| He had decided he would come to see me
| |
| | measles. 97.5% of these children were
|
| simply to stop them nagging. I did not
| |
| | found not to be suffering from measles
|
| spend a long time explaining or
| |
| | (Daily Telegraph January 8th 1997). We
|
| justifying the strange therapy but got
| |
| | are not talking about doctors
|
| his agreement that he would do everything
| |
| | misdiagnosing some obscure disease, but a
|
| I asked him to do. He came back for the
| |
| | common disease that is much discussed.
|
| second session and told me that his knees
| |
| | Many drugs have been found to be
|
| were much worse. 'You're the only person
| |
| | ineffective or, even worse, to involve
|
| that's ever managed to do anything,' he
| |
| | serious side effects. Pethidine, for
|
| said. This was a rather surprising but
| |
| | instance, given to huge numbers of women
|
| encouraging comment. By the time he came
| |
| | to reduce pain in labour has been found
|
| for his third session his knees had
| |
| | to be ineffective (What the Doctors Don't
|
| improved dramatically and he had taken a
| |
| | Tell You March 1997). A doctor
|
| new full-time job that involved him in
| |
| | specialising in anaesthetic and pain
|
| driving thousands of miles each month in
| |
| | relief told me that many of the
|
| a non-automatic car. He was delighted and
| |
| | operations used for intractable pain had
|
| subsequently recommended many other
| |
| | never been fully tested and in his
|
| people to come and see me.A man with
| |
| | opinion many of these were useless
|
| macular degeneration of the eyes said at
| |
| | procedures submitting people to more
|
| the end of his final appointment, 'I
| |
| | distress and pain. Many drugs have had to
|
| don't mean to be rude. What you do is a
| |
| | be withdrawn after devastating side
|
| joke, but I have no other explanation for
| |
| | effects have been found. In many ways
|
| why my eyesight is getting better.'In the
| |
| | doctors and 'scientific' people are
|
| past I often offered to show sceptics how
| |
| | asking standards from complementary
|
| powerful health kinesiology was. Some
| |
| | therapy that medicine and science do not
|
| refused to let me do anything, but others
| |
| | achieve.A frequent comment from my
|
| agreed to have a short session. When
| |
| | clients is that though the therapy (in my
|
| their symptom improved or disappeared
| |
| | case health kinesiology) seems bizarre, I
|
| after the treatment they would often say
| |
| | seem very sane and down-to-earth. They
|
| 'But it would probably have gone anyway'
| |
| | feel that they can trust me and that I am
|
| or 'I don't feel any different'.
| |
| | acting with honesty and integrity. More
|
| Eventually I got frustrated with this
| |
| | than conventional doctors we need to
|
| sort of response so I decided to offer to
| |
| | prove that we are intelligent, honest,
|
| make the sceptic worse rather than
| |
| | knowledgeable and skilful.Based on an
|
| better. 'I will put your body so out of
| |
| | article first published in 'Positive
|
| balance that you will get sickness and
| |
| | Health' in March 1998Jane Thurnell-Read
|
| diarrhoea' I now volunteer innocently. I
| |
| | is a writer and researcher on health,
|
| am sure skilled homeopaths, herbalists,
| |
| | stress, alternative medicine, and
|
| masseuses and reflexologists could do
| |
| | happiness. Visit her web site for tips
|
| this too. I have not yet found anyone who
| |
| | and information on how to live a happier,
|
| is willing to let me try to do this, in
| |
| | healthier life no matter how busy you
|
| spite of the fact that they believe that
| |
| | are.
|
| the therapy is nonsense! This offer of
| |
| |
|
