Throughout the ages and in various cultures worldwide there have been reports
of spiritual healers bringing about unusual cures. Such reports however, are
often met with profound skepticism by the medical community. Conventional wisdom
in the medical community suggests that healing cures can only be the result of a
placebo effect, spontaneous remission of symptoms, "hysterical" conditions,
naïve exaggerations or downright charlatanism.
Today, however, there is good news now for those who want to make a sound and
rational case for spiritual healing. In a recent issue of the Annals of
Internal Medicine, researchers reviewed 23 studies that documented the
positive effects of 'distant healing.' Distant healing is defined as a strategy
that aims to heal the sick through some exchange or channeling of energy that
transcends the physical. Both prayer and Therapeutic Touch (TT) are considered
types of distant healing. Some argue that the mere fact the scientific review
was published in a mainstream medical journal in the United States, confirms
that evidence is growing in support of the effectiveness of distant healing. The
results of the review, however, speak for
themselves—people who resort to prayer or healing
sessions may be engaging in a beneficial therapy, not just wishful thinking or
placebo therapy.
These findings are similar to the results of a 1988 study, which demonstrated
that intercessory prayer—people outside a hospital
praying for patients they do not know inside—may
improve the health of the patient being prayed for. Another study (Heidt, 1981)
found that TT significantly reduced anxiety in hospitalized cardiovascular
patients.
Despite these promising studies, scientific investigation of distant healing
remains controversial. This may be due to the fact that many practitioners of
distant healing have trouble explaining how spiritual healing works. Some have
suggested that "healing happens; it is not something that you do."
Unlike massage, or other forms of complementary and alternative therapies,
distant healing can not be performed for a determined length of time, in a
regular, controlled manner. Healing tends to occur when a certain complex of
conditions are present, but the medical community has yet to identify what these
conditions are. It is this very fuzziness that makes distant healing difficult
for conventional medical practitioners to accept.
Despite the skepticism surrounding distant healing in the medical community,
the use of this alternative therapy is growing in the United States. A 1998
landmark study on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in the United
States found that spiritual healing ranked as the fifth most frequently used
treatment. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) considers mind/body medicine
(which refers to the way our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors affect our
health) a major category of complementary and alternative medicine. In 1999 the
Senate allocated more than $12 million for the NIH's Office of Behavioral and
Social Sciences Research (OBSSR). This money will be used to pursue
scientifically based research in behavioral sciences, to establish pilot
mind/body medical centers, and to train and teach healthcare professionals in
these approaches.
