"Therapeutic Ritual"
Feb. 3rd, 2011 07:35 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
the_vultureI've been meaning, for a while now, to post some thoughts on an article I came across courtesy of ![[info]](https://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif?v=1)
lupabitch . The article, titled "Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why," (published in Wired Magazine: 17.09), discusses how drug manufacturers are struggling to maintain the effectiveness of their drugs in tests versus the 'placebo effect', which appears to be growing in strength.
For those who are not familiar with the placebo effect, it is the relief of some or all symptoms as a result of a patient's belief in the effectiveness treatment. In essence, if someone expects to feel better, quite often, he or she will feel better. That's the power of suggestion for ya and, according to the article, people's faith in modern medicine is making it harder for drugs to test successfully in placebo test trials.
While the article mainly focuses on the history of the methodology involving the placebo effect in the context of creating and testing new drugs, it also briefly discussed this phenomenon in a more positive light, showing how this principle, in conjunction with standard medical procedures, could be used to improve patient response and manage symptoms, especially pain. It even points at the possible importance of how doctors relate to patients, introducing the term 'therapeutic ritual.'
It's this term that got me thinking about various types of healing ceremonies, performed in wide variety of cultures and religions, ranging from shamanistic healing rituals to cast out an illness, to Christians gathering to pray for the wellness of a patient. This led me to thinking about an anthropology article I once read (the title and author of which elude me, at the moment) which discussed a Northwest Coast Native American, near the turn of the 20th century, who was training to become a shaman. During his training, he became completely disillusioned by what he learned, believing the sleight of hand used to 'trick' people into believing they were being cured was simply a purposeless scam. (Edit: According to Lévi-Strauss, the shaman began practice in order to expose the 'falsehood' of shamanism.) However, he was very surprised to discover that, when he applied his 'trickery', the condition of his patients actually seemed to improve. He came to realize that it was not about some actual 'magic' being performed that was important, but rather that the patient believed in the effectiveness of the treatment, thus martialing their own ability to control what was happening within their bodies.
In regards to my own personal experience, whilst I've recently experienced some events that have solidified my believe in systems such at the utilization of Qi (Chi), prior to that, I've long held a belief in the power of belief itself and, as such, in the importance of ritual to assist in attaining that belief for the benefit of wellness.
Edit: I later found the article that mentions the shaman. It is "The Sorcerer and His Magic," by Claude Lévi-Strauss, which details some history of a Kwakiutl shaman by the name of Quesalid. Whilst Lévi-Strauss treats the matter rather contemptuously, it is clear, even from his account, that Quesalid comes to see the value in helping his patients believe.
lupabitch . The article, titled "Placebos Are Getting More Effective. Drugmakers Are Desperate to Know Why," (published in Wired Magazine: 17.09), discusses how drug manufacturers are struggling to maintain the effectiveness of their drugs in tests versus the 'placebo effect', which appears to be growing in strength. For those who are not familiar with the placebo effect, it is the relief of some or all symptoms as a result of a patient's belief in the effectiveness treatment. In essence, if someone expects to feel better, quite often, he or she will feel better. That's the power of suggestion for ya and, according to the article, people's faith in modern medicine is making it harder for drugs to test successfully in placebo test trials.
While the article mainly focuses on the history of the methodology involving the placebo effect in the context of creating and testing new drugs, it also briefly discussed this phenomenon in a more positive light, showing how this principle, in conjunction with standard medical procedures, could be used to improve patient response and manage symptoms, especially pain. It even points at the possible importance of how doctors relate to patients, introducing the term 'therapeutic ritual.'
It's this term that got me thinking about various types of healing ceremonies, performed in wide variety of cultures and religions, ranging from shamanistic healing rituals to cast out an illness, to Christians gathering to pray for the wellness of a patient. This led me to thinking about an anthropology article I once read (the title and author of which elude me, at the moment) which discussed a Northwest Coast Native American, near the turn of the 20th century, who was training to become a shaman. During his training, he became completely disillusioned by what he learned, believing the sleight of hand used to 'trick' people into believing they were being cured was simply a purposeless scam. (Edit: According to Lévi-Strauss, the shaman began practice in order to expose the 'falsehood' of shamanism.) However, he was very surprised to discover that, when he applied his 'trickery', the condition of his patients actually seemed to improve. He came to realize that it was not about some actual 'magic' being performed that was important, but rather that the patient believed in the effectiveness of the treatment, thus martialing their own ability to control what was happening within their bodies.
In regards to my own personal experience, whilst I've recently experienced some events that have solidified my believe in systems such at the utilization of Qi (Chi), prior to that, I've long held a belief in the power of belief itself and, as such, in the importance of ritual to assist in attaining that belief for the benefit of wellness.
Edit: I later found the article that mentions the shaman. It is "The Sorcerer and His Magic," by Claude Lévi-Strauss, which details some history of a Kwakiutl shaman by the name of Quesalid. Whilst Lévi-Strauss treats the matter rather contemptuously, it is clear, even from his account, that Quesalid comes to see the value in helping his patients believe.
