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Wow, that’s
a huge question!
First, let me
say that my practice has developed a large number of counseling patients, which
I really love working with. I learn a lot myself, and I see a lot of
growth, along with the challenges of getting well and learning to be whole.
And I am very much a low-tech, grassroots ND – what someone called a ‘green
naturopath’ – and always, always
aim for rebalancing the basic cause of an illness or imbalance. This nearly
always involves mental/emotional/spiritual imbalances along with the usual poor
nutrition, etc. Nearly everyone begins with a 30 day detox, which I think
gives people a chance to lighten emotions and spirit along with cleansing the
body.
Based on all of
that, I have developed a set of things I use with people – honoring each
individual path as I hand out ‘homework.’ The first
appointment involves discovering who they are, what they really want, and how
much effort they want to put into it. It usually involves the spouse as
well, which helps me to see family/couple dynamics, and sometimes I address
that too. I use journaling, mind-mapping, art therapy, and meditation to
begin with, then whatever seems to be what each patient needs. Often,
they just need someone to vent with. Sometimes, they need the harsh truth
about what they’re doing. Sometimes they need a safe place to cry
and to learn to mourn – e.g., women who have lost babies years ago.
ALL of them need to have what they are going through – be it mentally or
emotionally – validated. So many people have handed their own
personal power over to physicians and never taken it back, so I work to
re-empower them. Often, they have no idea what their options are –
their MD never having taken the time to explain them – and as you know,
information is power. That’s really it. I see patients every
two weeks, require that they check in via email the week in-between, and that
they check with me before they take any kind of pill – if only to let me
know. I tell them that I do not intend to see them for years – that
a few months will generally do it – and so, with a time limit, they
usually do the work of unpacking emotional baggage. Sometimes I teach
them Reiki, which helps those who need calming. Often I recommend Yoga
classes and massage. It just depends on the person.
Sorry I can’t
be more specific. If you’d like to discuss this further, you can
email or IM me – this seems like a topic that the entire group might not
be interested in. I think what it boils down to is realizing that your
job as a physician is to empower, but as an ND you must allow each patient’s
journey to be what they want it to be and to step aside. Someone in
school (sorry, I don’t remember who) said, “teach the patient, then
get out of their way while they heal.” I think that’s good
advice. The hardest part for me was realizing that people were free not
to take my advice, and that I could not help everyone.
FYI – I am
in the midst of writing a book about exactly this kind of counseling, if anyone
is interested~ and if anyone has hints about publishing, I’d love to hear
them!
Be well,
Chance Diebold
If I could, I'd comb the sky and collect the stars,
then quickly pile them into a basket until it overflowed with
silvery light.
And then I'd give the basket to you,
because all things precious and beautiful should be yours today.
From:
Sent: Tuesday, February 13, 2007
9:58 AM
To:
Subject: RE: [NDPhilosophy] Re:
Most people don't want to be cured, they want relief; cure is too painful.
Chance,
I have a question. Having worked in Social work for some years I have seen the
2 steps forward, 1 step back, 2 steps forward, 3 steps back, etc... in people
and in my self as a matter of fact... Growth seems to be like this. I am
interested in learning from you, if you can share it- what sorts of things,
approaches, statements or forms of encouragement you utilize as you assist your
patients in the healing process that relieves them of feeling guilty or ashamed
of their digressions :. keping them stay engaged in the healing process journey
they are on?
While I understand we all have to develop our own syle, I am interested in your
approach as a physician.
Thanks,
Carol Spooner
SCNM Q15
"Chance
Indeed! There are many patients that come in wanting
to get better, and
will in fact do everything to get better, only to revert later to their
previously (unhealthy) behaviors and habits. Still, they continue to show
up... and it turns out, they got better only to discover that they either
did not know who they were or that their families didn't like the new
dichotomy. I remember writing a paper on it as an undergrad, but the idea
of a 'sick member' of a family didn't really ring any bells until I began to
see patients who were seriously ill.
There are so many kinds of healing, and I really believe that we need to be
open to all of them. If we get stuck on any one path, it is such a
disservice to our patients. And to ourselves for that matter - I learn and
grow as a direct result of the people who come to see me, every bit as much
as they do!
By the way - there are no clueless students. Every single practioner brings
something special into the practice of naturopathy. The new ND has fresh
ideas and retains a willingness to learn and to be wrong, while the more
established have the benefit of experience and some wisdom gathered over
time. Both are vital to the profession, to the patients, and to each other.
Chance
http://DrDiebold.
-----Original Message-----
From: NDPhilosophy@
Behalf Of MaryK
Sent: Monday, February 12, 2007 12:43 PM
To: NDPhilosophy@
Subject: [NDPhilosophy] Re: Most people don't want to be cured, they want
relief; cure is too painful.
I think it is also important that we recognize people's emotional
connection to their illness. Sometimes, their pain or their
diagnoses' has become such an integral part of themselves, that it is
part of their identity. How would each of us feel if our identity
was altered, and we no longer knew who we were?
I too am just a clueless new graduate, in many ways. But, I was
blessed to work with many docs in the community as a student. From
what I have witnessed, I agree with Chance's post.
We affect change every time we speak or touch someone. It may not be
the change we were hoping for, or they were hoping for. But, then
again...we have less to do with the healing process than we like to
delude ourselves. Remember, we are there to hold their hands and
make them laugh, while the real healing takes place (in spite of us).
Our Medicine IS our philosophy (that is truly what sets us
apart)...but, we can't let our dogma's stop us from helping a
patient. Sometimes a patient needs to be met a little closer to
their point of confortability (or their pain alleviated enough for
them to see what life could be like) and then babystepped towards
their ultimate health.
Peace and Light~MaryK Martin Geyer (just fallen from the nest)
--- In NDPhilosophy@
<chance@...> wrote:
>
> Dear Clueless Student.
>
>
>
> YES - it is true! So many people have been raised in the current
medical
> climate that it is very difficult for them to understand personal
> responsibility or the inherent health within the human body. If a
pill will
> do it, then why go through the effort? You have to admit, our
medicine is
> hard. And too, certain palliative treatments are necessary
sometimes - it
> is very difficult to get anyone's attention if they are in too much
pain to
> think, or too frightened by a diagnosis to make clear and
appropriate
> decisions. The trick is holding their attention long enough for
that cure
> to happen. and once it does, most people will climb right on board.
>
>
>
> . still, I don't think the patients interested in this 'cure' are
all that
> rare, and the ones who aren't interested are generally dissuaded
before they
> even make an appointment. I tell them, in a short consultation on
the phone
> before they come in, what I'm about. Diet. Exercise. No smoking.
> Emotional and spiritual growth and balance. Naturopathy is not for
> everyone, but neither is heart surgery! We have to allow for
individual
> differences in everything, after all. We have to remember this
too: even if
> they don't take us up on our first offer, they will remember us.
It may be
> as a kook, or it may be because we said something brilliant, but
they will
> remember us because we listened and cared and offered something
nobody else
> ever did - whether or not they were in a place to accept it at the
time.
> The same person who ran screaming from that painful cure may be the
one who
> turns up at the door weeks or months or years later, now ready for
what we
> have to say.
>
>
>
> -- Chance Diebold (NC)
>
>
>
> The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life.
>
> It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy
to get
> started
>
> _____
>
> From: NDPhilosophy@
[mailto:NDPhilosophy@
> Behalf Of William Franklin
> Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 4:26 PM
> To: NDPhilosophy@
> Subject: [NDPhilosophy] Most people don't want to be cured, they
want
> relief; cure is too painful.
>
>
>
> Do you find this to be true? In my experience it is the driving
factor
> behind the success of the palliative mainstream medical approach.
And it is
> the main obstacle to cure that our profession faces.. the lack of
interest
> in actually being cured. It looks like our medicine is for those
rare
> individuals that are willing to take responsibility and work at
changing
> their lives around. If this is the case, then can we really say
that our
> medicine is for everyone? Not should it be, but rather. is it
actually?
>
>
>
> How do you get people in the door in order to offer them the healing
> alternative? How do you remove this obstacle once they are in the
door?
> The expectation is that you'll give some secret magic herb or
ancient
> chinese acupuncture technique or whatever and that it will take
care of all
> their problems, in precisely the way that the mainstream wonder
cures have
> been unable to do. How do you break the news to them that this is
far from
> the case and that it is going to require real change and effort on
their
> part?
>
>
>
> File this under "putting the philosophy into action 101". Sub
category,
> "clueless student seeks advice". Thanks y'all.
>
>
>
> William Franklin
>
> SCNM student
>
>
>
> William Franklin
> SCNM Student
>
> "How can a man find a sensible way to live? One way and one only -
> Philosophy. And my philosophy means keeping that vital spark within
you free
> from damage and degradation, using it to transcend pain and
pleasure, doing
> everything with a purpose, avoiding lies and hypocrisy, not relying
on
> another person's actions or failings. To accept everything that
comes, and
> everything that is given, as coming from that same spiritual
source."
> --Marcus Aurelius
>
>
>
> _____
>
> Cheap Talk? Check
>
<http://us.rd.
om/evt
> =39663/*http:
Phone call
> rates.
>
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