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principles (Mind/Body)
exploratory or mechanistic?
psychospiritual approaches

definition

investigative/exploratory approach or mechanistic/prescriptive approach?

Every practitioner makes choices concerning treatment plans. In the area of psychospiritual approaches, one such choice is between following or leading the patient. Do you want to explore the individual meaning of the patient's particular symptom or condition, or do you want to prescribe exercises or solutions??? Be clear about which you are choosing. Associations do exist between diseases and certain mental states, and may be made more conscious by exploring them with the patient. A mechanistic approach may be helpful in some situations, and harmful or ineffective in others. It is important to assess the result of your intervention, and determine whether the feedback is positive or negative.

First, one must assess the nature of the patient's perception of presented symptoms and their relationship to them. Is the patient identified with the symptom? If so, is this identification conscious or unconscious? Or is the symptom something that that the patient is at the effect of? What does the symptom do for the patient? How is it useful in their life?

• Has the patient come to an understanding of the purpose of the symptom or condition (whether or not the practitioner has made such determination)? Such understanding and response can be simple, multilayered, or life-long in nature. In the case of unprocessed material, a broader and more exploratory or investigative approach may be useful. Note that the doctor may have to switch roles and become a "co-discoverer", since the information is completely subjective and unique even with symptoms that are identical to other processes.

• There are instances where the mechanistic or prescriptive approach may be indicated. This may be useful if the patient gives negative feedback to the investigative approach, or if the patient and practitioner are unable to change through the exploration of a process. The mechanistic approach then offers tools for raising the patient's consciousness. Examples are affirmations and guided imagery . These visualizations and affirmations serve to offer an experience in which the mind and body interact with the patient's awareness. S/he is able to observe the experience and be in it at the same time, and to assess its value for him/her. As such, these exercises serve to build this mind/body flexibility. Note that in this case the doctor is in subject-object relationship to the patient, which may add power to the healing modality, but in the area of psychospiritual approaches may hinder new subjective insight. A causal presumption has been made by the doctor and this may also limit awareness of other subjective responses to a particular symptomatology. The use of these methods may also lead to unprocessed aspects and back to an exploratory approach. (Wambach)

see:
bodymind psychobiology
body reveals: the spirit
character typology of Reich and Lowen
converting a symptom to a signal
subjective inquiry approach
the shadow and physical symptoms
imagery: precautions
imagery: principles: receptive or programmed?


footnotes