Counseling

Counseling: Dr. Hanna Ian expresses the need for counseling in a very clear way.

“...The role of the physician and the responsibility of the patient in the process of healing are central to the discussion of the counseling relationship. The counseling relationship provides a vehicle to approach the symptoms of illness through recognition of and reverence for the blueprint of the human. Ideally the physician will understand and address the cause of illness with the apperception that illness is not random and plays a powerful role as a teaching agent. The physician acknowledges the role the patient plays in his or her healing and provides the patient with the environment and guidance for greater empowerment, authenticity and transformation.

...The counseling relationship begins with a reverence for life, the purpose of life and what it means to be human. The architect of the human has created a complex design consisting of emotional, psychological and spiritual components that manifest in the physical form. These components are inseparable from the wholeness and integrity of the human. It is only with an insight, albeit incomplete, as to the creator’s purpose of life and the ability to read the blueprint of the human – in terms of its emotional, psychological and spiritual components – that one can begin to understand and address the cause of disease. That is to say, all disease originates from a basic crisis of spirit, possibly stemming from loss of meaning in one’s life, grief, guilt, an unforgiving heart, contamination through hatred, or loss of self-esteem and personal dignity. Within this perspective, all physical dysfunction being manifest by the body is a reflection of deeper, unresolved spiritual issues.

Within the framework of the counseling relationship is the realization that illness is a powerful teacher, sickness can be the vehicle to re-evaluate the pathways and priorities of one’s life, and disease can be an opportunity for inner growth and transformation.

...Integrated into the counseling relationship is the role of the physician as the facilitator of healing. The current cultural attitude that disease originates from unseen forces that invade and take over the physical body is coupled with the role of the physician as the hero, the conqueror of disease, with the relentless task to eradicate the ultimate enemy, death. The heroics of modem medicine, which include cloning, genetic alteration, mechanical hearts, organ transplants and chemotherapy, correlate well with the epidemic of the fragmentation of the human spiritual condition.

...While the influence of viral, bacterial, environmental and genetic factors are real and may contribute to the physical manifestation of illness, they do not represent the underlying cause. Illness does not happen randomly and, as stated earlier, understanding the complexity of emotional, psychological and spiritual stresses is crucial to finding the cause. While it may be appropriate at times to treat the symptoms of disease, there is a far greater role of the physician: to be a teacher, a guide and a mentor for the patient, teaching the patient how the natural body works; explaining the physical changes occurring as the result of disease; guiding to help the patient discover the underlying cause of disease; and mentoring the patient to explore the possibility of change, greater authenticity and living more fully within the purpose of life.

...The counseling relationship also encompasses the role of the patient as an active participant in the healing process. The nature of the doctor-patient relationship is complementary. When disease is viewed as the enemy, randomly striking, then the doctor performs heroic acts on the sick individual who has taken on the role of the powerless victim. In contrast, when disease is viewed as a lesson, never random, ideally the doctor takes on the role of teacher and mentor, and the patient becomes an active participant in the healing process.

Drs. Norman Shealy and Caroline Myss identified eight dysfunctional patterns in people who become sick (1988):

1. Unresolved or deeply consuming emotional, psychological or spiritual stress within a person’s life

2. Negative belief patterns that have control over a person’s reality

3. The inability to give and/or receive love

4. A lack of humor and the inability to distinguish serious concerns from the lesser issues of life

5. Ineffectively exercising the power of choice in holding dominion over the movement and activities of one’s life

6. Not attending to the needs of the body. Additionally, how well an individual attends to the emotional, physical and chemical stresses of life is strongly connected to the degree of vigor and stamina in the physical body itself

7. The “existential vacuum,” or the suffering that accompanies the absence or loss of meaning in one’s life

8. The tendency toward denial … The inability to face the challenges of one’s life and neither acknowledge nor consciously recognize what it is that is not working in one’s life

Their conclusion is that people directly participate, either consciously or unconsciously, in the creation of their own reality, including the reality of health. Attitudes, emotions, beliefs and an awareness of one’s spiritual self are the tools used in the process of the creation of health. Once this level of awareness is attained, it becomes difficult to allow negativity to go unchallenged in one’s life, since the consequences of disease are understood to be a very real potential outcome to negative emotions.

...Returning to the counseling relationship, the physician is not responsible for the quality of a patient’s health or how successfully a patient heals. The physician is only responsible for providing the best education, the best utilization of appropriate technology, the best treatment with the least harm and the best guidance. The responsibility for healing lies with the patient. It is in the participation with one’s own health and healing that the patient must find the inner road to self-empowerment, responsibility, inner wisdom and love.

Finally, the counseling relationship provides a vehicle to approach the symptoms of illness through recognition of and reverence for the blueprint of the human. Ideally the physician will understand and address the cause of illness with the apperception that illness is not random and plays a powerful role as a teaching agent. The physician acknowledges the role the patient plays in his or her healing and provides the patient with the environment and guidance for greater empowerment, authenticity and transformation.”

Reference

Ian, H. (2009, April 18). The Nature of the Counseling Relationship Within the Philosophy of Naturopathic Medicine. Naturopathic Doctor News & Review. https://ndnr.com/neurology/the-nature-of-the-counseling-relationship- within-the-philosophy-of-naturopathic-medicine/