My Experiences with Integrated Complementary Therapies
By Meena Gupta, Counselor, Therapist & Trainer
President, Society for Complementary Therapies
Human body and mind are extremely complex mechanism and therefore, it would be pretentious for any one to claim that he or she can put it into order once it has been derailed due to extraneous or internal causes. It is for this reason that there are times when even under the classical allopathic system, one medicine alone does not work and the medical practitioner has to give a plethora of medicines to bring the disease under control .And even this approach fails at times.
The same is true of Alternative and Complementary therapies and systems which often are brought into the loop only after the allopathic system has either failed or is too expensive. Since the cases ab initio are difficult ones, a single therapy may not really provide an effective cure.
I have therefore experimented with offering a bouquet of complementary therapies which I use in an integrated, holistic and customized manner for the patient for healing and counseling and have found this approach to be remarkably effective. With this approach, I have been able to achieve credible results with both psychological and physical problems.
The therapies range from Foot Reflexology and Bowl Therapy to more complex Bio-guided Music Therapy, Clinical Hypnotherapy and Art Therapy. My goal has been to help individuals understand the origin of their feelings and disorder and then with the help of selected therapies used in combination, reorient them for a cure.
Here are a few case histories:
A girl child who had met with an accident and was reduced to an invalid state, was brought to me in a wheel chair. The challenge before me was as to how I could make a positive difference to her health. Initially, by administering Foot Reflexology at appropriate points in a specialized manner, I could restore in her some of the health energy flow, besides providing comfort and a sense of well-being to the child. Thereafter,, I used Tibetan Bowl Therapy by placing four bowls around her head. The striking of the bowls which gave rise to rhythmic sound waves, started showing good results. The change in her expression, her ability to move and make eye contact all became clear and positive. The body did not heal but the mind started healing for the first time.
In another case, I could cure insomnia in a person who had suffered from it for many years and had failed despite trying several traditional routes to cure his problem. In his case Music Therapy coupled with audio-visual relaxation therapy proved to be very effective. The patient felt relieved and in about 8 sittings, his insomnia also disappeared.
I have also treated stress related psycho-somatic disorders using Clinical Hypnosis. A person was traumatized by the fear of death. When this person came to me for healing, a combination of hypnosis and relaxation techniques over a period of time helped subside his disorder. The person was finally able to take charge of his life and lead a normal life.
Similarly, a student of management was petrified by his fears of failure at the IIM where he had succeeded in getting admission. A series of Mind Control exercises combined with clinical hypnosis helped him to take control of himself and today he is comfortable studying at that Institute with confidence and self-esteem.
Even serious cancer patients have been treated by me using the above integrated approach. Both Music and Verbal Relaxation Therapies were effective in reducing chemotherapy induced anxiety and fragility. Patients with a high state of anxiety could obtain highly beneficial results from these techniques delivered in customized suitable combinations.
The brain is constantly changing, learning and evolving. Therefore, neurological shifts were observed in a patient suffering from Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD. The patient was at a loss to understand why her thoughts, feelings and behaviour were getting distorted. In this case," counseling beyond words" and administering Music Therapy and Hypnotherapy helped her to calm down and overcome her phobias. Her disturbing past memories soon began to fade away giving rise to a new confidence in her .The important aspect of this treatment was that she continued to take her allopathic medicines which, in the absence of cognitive behavioral therapies, were not having desired impact.
Thus, holistic healing used in an integrated and customized manner provides remarkable immediate and long term relief to individuals and patients. The opportunity to touch, empathize, counsel and heal them through various therapies makes theirs as well as my life calmer, healthier and happier.