bernard
08-06-2004, 08:09 AM
Hi Somasimplers,
Ian sent me this course report (his computer is still lost in the Highlands! :wink: )
Creating Therapeutic Encounter
Dr David Riley 5 June Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital
The subtitle of the course was how to make encounters more therapeutic,
How to enhance healing responses in people - and also in yourself.
At first glance this course might seem a wooly 'feelgood' boost for the jaded health care provider or some might feel that the topic is so Nebulous that it is not worth pursuing.
Both these viewpoints are wholly inaccurate and I left the course with an amazing amount of respect for the type of work Dr Riley is attempting to popularise.
In his own words he is trying to restore the respectability of the 'artience' of medicine. The overt acknowledgment that medicine is a blend of art, science and the powerful encounter between patient and practitioner was a breath of fresh air.
The course setting was the stunningly designed new homeopathic hospital in Glasgow, a statement of intent that health flourishes in surroundings that engender it. There is evidence that surroundings not only help in an aesthetic sense but actually improve physiology and pain perception. Prosaically the hospital is under threat of closure. Throughout the day there was a blend of hard and 'soft science', patient case histories, video presentations and group interaction between the Drs, nurses, physiotherapists and an osteopath in the audience.
Simplistically Dr Riley persuasively argued that therapists and Drs in medicine have a whole range of tools to use ranging from pharmacology, acupuncture, surgery to homeopathy. All too often we attribute success or failure to the tool we are attempting to administer and not to the less tangible factors in a treatment encounter. There seems to be a continuous drive to research the tools of the trades but not the human factors, which are behind them .The course provided evidence that this can often be
counterproductive.
It has been proven that the less tangible factors such as consultation skills, communication skills, empathy and environment are actually the things in so many cases that are the catalyst to improved health or the diminishing of sensitivity/pain perception. This may sound all well and good but where is the evidence everyone might say. We were presented with evidence from trials on how enhanced consultations which demonstrated empathy led to improved outcomes in terms of function, drug consumption and patient satisfaction.
Research and conceptual ideas from the emerging fields of psychoneuroimmunology, psychotherapy and pain science and the new brain imaging techniques were linked to clinical case histories. It was heartening to hear first hand from a practitioner who had invested years into studying homeopathy and conventional medicine that these things may be in the armory of possibilities. However the deliberate abstinence of a tool bag approach in often complex cases has taught Dr Riley the power of the innate self healing possessed by us all.
Dr Riley often used the metaphor of a plant trying to grow through concrete. It is not always necessary to understand botany but it may be helpful to remove the concrete and to allow a bit of sunlight through. Many patients particularly those presenting to pain clinics and physiotherapy departments often need a little application of this metaphor and perhaps the skills in applying it need valuing a little more? The course was certainly beneficial for me personally and I have enough evidence to convince any skeptics that may challenge a humanistic approach to care!
A link is given on details relating to the above is given: www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7279/120 and a profile of Dr Riley
www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full322/7279/178
Ian sent me this course report (his computer is still lost in the Highlands! :wink: )
Creating Therapeutic Encounter
Dr David Riley 5 June Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital
The subtitle of the course was how to make encounters more therapeutic,
How to enhance healing responses in people - and also in yourself.
At first glance this course might seem a wooly 'feelgood' boost for the jaded health care provider or some might feel that the topic is so Nebulous that it is not worth pursuing.
Both these viewpoints are wholly inaccurate and I left the course with an amazing amount of respect for the type of work Dr Riley is attempting to popularise.
In his own words he is trying to restore the respectability of the 'artience' of medicine. The overt acknowledgment that medicine is a blend of art, science and the powerful encounter between patient and practitioner was a breath of fresh air.
The course setting was the stunningly designed new homeopathic hospital in Glasgow, a statement of intent that health flourishes in surroundings that engender it. There is evidence that surroundings not only help in an aesthetic sense but actually improve physiology and pain perception. Prosaically the hospital is under threat of closure. Throughout the day there was a blend of hard and 'soft science', patient case histories, video presentations and group interaction between the Drs, nurses, physiotherapists and an osteopath in the audience.
Simplistically Dr Riley persuasively argued that therapists and Drs in medicine have a whole range of tools to use ranging from pharmacology, acupuncture, surgery to homeopathy. All too often we attribute success or failure to the tool we are attempting to administer and not to the less tangible factors in a treatment encounter. There seems to be a continuous drive to research the tools of the trades but not the human factors, which are behind them .The course provided evidence that this can often be
counterproductive.
It has been proven that the less tangible factors such as consultation skills, communication skills, empathy and environment are actually the things in so many cases that are the catalyst to improved health or the diminishing of sensitivity/pain perception. This may sound all well and good but where is the evidence everyone might say. We were presented with evidence from trials on how enhanced consultations which demonstrated empathy led to improved outcomes in terms of function, drug consumption and patient satisfaction.
Research and conceptual ideas from the emerging fields of psychoneuroimmunology, psychotherapy and pain science and the new brain imaging techniques were linked to clinical case histories. It was heartening to hear first hand from a practitioner who had invested years into studying homeopathy and conventional medicine that these things may be in the armory of possibilities. However the deliberate abstinence of a tool bag approach in often complex cases has taught Dr Riley the power of the innate self healing possessed by us all.
Dr Riley often used the metaphor of a plant trying to grow through concrete. It is not always necessary to understand botany but it may be helpful to remove the concrete and to allow a bit of sunlight through. Many patients particularly those presenting to pain clinics and physiotherapy departments often need a little application of this metaphor and perhaps the skills in applying it need valuing a little more? The course was certainly beneficial for me personally and I have enough evidence to convince any skeptics that may challenge a humanistic approach to care!
A link is given on details relating to the above is given: www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/322/7279/120 and a profile of Dr Riley
www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full322/7279/178