Three Streams of Remediation Within Heilkunst : Therapeutic Education (part seven)

Continuing our exploration into the third jurisdiction of Heilkunst (Therapeutic Education), I now come to the concept of the shift within treatment to a different type of remedy. In the first two jurisdictions (Regimen and Medicine), you could say that the therapeutics are largely based on a substance approach. The substance as it exists in a nutritional protocol, or the basis of a homeopathic remedy, for example, is the reference point for what is catalyzing the therapeutic effect. This is the predominant way of thinking about medicine and therapeutics through all systems of medicine, natural or otherwise.

Here are a few examples of a substance-based approach:

• A Tylenol for a headache.
• A low-fat diet.
• A homeopathic remedy for insomnia.
• Herbal formulas

The further into the third jurisdiction I’m called to go into with a patient, the more that the substance approach takes a back seat, and the more that we engage with an essence approach. This is much less familiar, and takes some adjustment for the patient at first. “Aren’t you giving me a remedy today?” is a common question at this point. The patient needs to learn that not all remedies come from the familiar realm of substance, but that a much more direct approach is being accessed at this point in treatment.

The broad realm of relationships form the core of the essence approach. Even without engaging in any formal therapy, everyone is unconsciously receiving therapy from all the relationships in their life. The formal therapeutic process is simply a way of taking this natural process, focussing it, and speeding it up. To suggest to a patient a relationship which might be therapeutic for them – this could anything from the suggestion of exploring a particular piece of art, to a suggested conversation to have with a particular family member – is a way of delivering this essence approach in treatment.

The role of the physician, even more in this realm, is to be a “stand in” for all types of relationships and archetypes which the patient needs to process against a foil. From one session to the next, the physician may stand in as substitute mother or father; as the lightning rod for the patient’s unexpressed rage; or even more fundamentally as the mirror for the patient’s darker shadow side. Through this juncture of their journey, the patient is peeling away layer after layer of their personality, and driving in more deeply to the essence of their self. Some of the revelations here can cause shock waves, or reverberations which can take several weeks for the patient to fully integrate into their self. The positive outcome of all of this, is that I get to witness these patients become more and more who they are meant to be, and engaged more and more fully with what they are meant to be doing in their life.

The hardest work leads to the biggest rewards.

• ← Three Streams of Remediation Within Heilkunst : Therapeutic Education (part six)
• Three Streams of Remediation Within Heilkunst : Therapeutic Education (part eight) →