E to H of Therapies
Herbalism
In many ways, herbal medicine is the oldest of approaches to health care there is. Man has always sought relief from illness in poultices, linaments, linctus’, herbal mixtures and herbal teas.
The folk healers and medicinal women of the late middle ages gave way in this country to the apothacaries of the 17TH century. With the invention of the gelatin pill, which allowed drugs/herbs to be absorbed by the gut) by french pharmacists in 1834, it heralded the demise of herbal medicine being used by so many people.
Today, many people are reclaiming their ‘roots’ and are turning back to herbal medicine, whereas in other countries, it has never really disappeared.
Herbalists believe that the whole plant needs to be used to make a herbal medicine rather than the modern wish to try to extract the active ingredient of the plant only. Herbalists believe that by taking the whole plant, any side effects of consuming just the active ingredient are avoided as the plant contains other ingredients which protect the person from them. We cannot perfect on nature and nature has given us plants in their entirety to help us heal ourselves.
Some herbalists do not like to prescribe herbs for the symptomatic relief of illnesses, prefering to use them in an holistic approach to the individual.
They see the symptoms of disease as indicating an imbalance and their assessment of someone will take in factors like lifestyle, environment, diet, emotional stress etc.
They can prescribe different herbal mixtures depending on the ‘whole patient presentation’ rather than on the symptom picture.
A treatment/consultation lasts between an hour to two hours.
You may be given remedies of herbs in teas or tisanes, tinctures ( made by macerating the plant in a solution of alcohol and water), tablets, ointments, gargles, lotions, creams, poultices and inhalations.
Contra-indications
Herbs can be toxic and dangerous if used incorrectly or for a long period of time without guidance.
It is always better to seek a fully qualified practitioner to help you with your needs.
Homeopathy
Homeopathy, founded by the german physician Samuel Hahnemann in the 1790’S, was a system developed using the law of similars (like cures like) by testing various substances on himself to see what reactions and symptoms were produced.
In 1810, Hahnemann published ‘Organon of the rational art of healing’ a book that established the principles of homeopathy and taught his methods to other physicians. The founding of the American institute of homeopathy in 1844 was a direct result of the successful acceptance of his findings.
Since then there have been many institutions, foundations (one of which is the international foundation for homeopathy founded in 1978), medical schools and hospitals established which specialise in homeopathy.
Homeopathic physicians (homeopaths), believe that by giving the patient a substance that mirrors their symptoms it will cure them when given in a homeopathic form. This basis of homeopathy was discovered by giving a healthy person a substance to take over a period of time. This resulted in that person exhibiting various symptoms that were caused by the substance prescribed. This procedure was to become known as ‘proving’. The symptoms that the person ‘proved’ were duly noted and formed the basis of the Materia Medica. The materia medica is the main source of information for remedies and the symptoms they treat.
What does a treatment involve:
Homeopaths will take a detailed medical history of a patient and decide which remedy they feel will treat the underlying disorder that has created the symptoms. Treatments can last from 1 to 2 hours and the patient remains fully clothed.
Remedies are prescribed in either small white powdery tablets or may be given in a tincture form (where the tablet has been crushed into water). The potencies of these remedies are determined by how many times the original substance has been diluted in water (ie 30 times = 30C), so the higher the potency, the stronger the remedy.
Homeopathy is now widely accepted and, in the UK, can now be obtained through doctor’s surgeries and hospitals.
Contra-indications
Please see the general indications box at the end of the page
Hypnotherapy
Trances or hypnotic states have been used in many cultures through out the ages for healing or for getting in contact with their ancestors. Shamans in these societies understood the power of trance like states and believed that the healing of a person could be affected by turning off the conscious mind and submerging themselves in their unconscious.
Franz Anton Mesmer really was the early pioneer of what we have come today to regard as hypnotherapy and lent his name to the term ‘mesmerism’or mesmerising.
Later on, a scottish surgeon named James Braid published papers on surgery performed under hypnosis, but these were widely ignored until the 1890’S where his work brought hypnosis into the fore again. It wasn’t until the 1960’S that the modern form of hypnotherapy, which is widely used today, was laid down by Milton H.Erickson in America.
Practitioners believe that the psyche has different levels of consciousness and that under hypnotherapy the conscious mind is ignored temporarily and the subconscious is influenced by suggestion. This seems to make the body impervious to pain and mental anguish. During hypnosis the heartbeat and breath slows and deepens.
Treatment usually lasts for an hour where a medical history is taken. The practitioner will assess whether you will be able to be hypnotised, depending on how relaxed you are and whether you feel safe enough to undergo hypnotism.
You are usually on a couch or seated in a chair and the practitioner will ask you to relax and will then take you through the procedure.
There are several hypnotic procedures such as classical, suggestion and analytical hypnotherapy.
Induction involves the practitioner asking you to visualise a scene, listen to something or to stare at something such as a pencil.
You will then be taken deeper into the trance by either descending stairs or by counting down from 10 to zero.
During the hypnosis you will feel as if you are in a daydream and you will be aware of what is going on around you. You may be asked to recall a distant memory or regress back to a particular time or the practitioner may implant a particular suggestion in the consciousness.
Contra-indications
It is highly recommended that you use fully qualified practitioners.
Hypnotherapy is not recommended for people suffering epilepsy, psychosis or depression.
General precautions
It is advised that if you are suffering from any symptoms, please consult your doctor or health care practitioner before embarking on any complementary treatment.
Nobody suffering from any chronic symptoms should undertake a complementary therapy without consulting their doctor first.
Healthytherapies.com do not accept responsibility for any problems that may occur from anyone using any of the above therapies.
The above data is for information purposes only and healthytherapies.com have only written down contra-indications where known.
It is always advisable to seek help from your doctor or by ringing the main organisation of the therapy that you are interested in before embarking on any therapy, no matter whether you are suffering symptoms or not.
The responsibility of your health, lies with you and no-one else.