Monday, November 29, 2010

Biological Dentistry: New Blog, Major Health Support

This is likely the final entry into this early blog that I began for sharing some of the important things that I want my patients and the general public to know. Biological Dentistry can transform the sad and ugly look of mouths such as that one (of a cancer patient).

I have posted a new blog on my clinical website and you are invited to visit that and subscribe to receive future blog postings.

The address is: http://naturalconnectionshealthcare.com/blog/2010/clean-to-the-bone-biological-dentistry/

Many of you have had your Mercury dental fillings removed. The picture above was included so that you will remember the suffering, debility and often pain that you experienced before you were helped by Biological Dentistry. Please tell others about the health recovery that may be theirs if they visit a biological dentist.
Best wishes to you all for a healthy and meaningful Christmas/Holiday season!
Ralph Wilson, N.D., Washington DC

Sunday, November 7, 2010

Deepening Commitment to NIHA Success

Finding your way to the Integrative Medicine services of NIHA is easy: Just follow the signs.

National Integrated Health Associates (NIHAdc.com) has developed an increasingly visible location on what I call "the healthcare landscape" in the USA.

A Holistic Integrative Medicine and Dental Center, NIHA has recently expanded its offerings to include Holistic Primary Care. With the NIHA Newsletter, NIHA Webinars, online Library of health information, and the new easy-to-use online Wellness Store, the word is getting around that NIHA is a giant on the healthcare landscape.

For the past ten years I have known Mark McClure, DDS, FAGD (NIHA co-founder) since meeting him at workshops of Dietrich Klinghardt, M.D., Ph.D. It has been deeply rewarding professionally for me to have been a clinical associate at NIHA since October 2001. I purposely chose to move to Washington DC so that I could help serve our country through my contributions to the growth of health care opportunities for the public.

One of the brilliant practitioners at NIHA is Bruce Rind, M.D., whose innovations are becoming legendary in the integrative medicine community. His assessments and treatments are helping people who had otherwise been given no hope for improvement, such as from strokes, chronic fatigue, thyroid/adrenal conditions and much more. He has information on the NIHA site, as well as on his earlier website: DrRind.com.

These past months and upcoming months mark a pivotal time in NIHA's growth and in the ways that I am contributing to the integrative medicine team there. We have recently been joined by healthcare innovator Steven Shafarman, developer of FlexAware fitness and rehabilitation education. I recently wrote a NIHA blog entry about the Integrative Physical Health Initiative at NIHA which began with Steve's insightful recommendation.

There are other enhancements and additions yet to come to NIHA's services to the public locally, nationally and even globally through the Internet.

I invite you to visit NIHA's internet site (NIHAdc.com) and my own clinical site (NaturalConnectionsHealthcare.com) for more information. It is deeply rewarding for me to contribute to NIHA's success.

Expanding Service for DC Area: Washington Institute

One of the most seasoned of leaders in healthcare growth whom I've met is Dr. Victoria Goldsten -- founder of the Washington Institute of Natural Medicine (WINMdc.com).

The Institute has been a consistent resource for both natural medicine services and training in what they call Traditional Naturopathy or Classical Naturopathy. For several years I have been a supporter of this facility in their former location in the Cleveland Park/National Zoo area of the District of Columbia.

During the past few years when the District of Columbia was considering how to regulate the practices of the relatively new profession of Naturopathic Physician, I have been a consistent advocate for allowing a regulatory structure that honors the public benefits of both of these natural medicine professions. I have observed Dr. Goldsten and naturopaths from DC and surrounding states as they diligently gave inputs to the process and responded to various developments regarding practice of natural health methods in The District.

I am particularly impressed with the Washington Institute's contribution to education in natural medicine and natural health approaches. My repeated statement to them is that their structure for teaching is in alignment with the old-fashioned method of training apprentices using on-site and hands-on learning as a key addition to their online educational opportunities.

Dr. Goldsten's unique "Natural Health Exam" is an example of the eclectic blend of techniques of assessment and treatment that is reminiscent of when I was a student of Dr. John Bastyr, Dr. Gary Berg and others who understood the interface between the "old school" naturopathic doctors and the newly developing profession of "naturopathic physician."

Now that the Washington Institute has relocated to the Tenleytown area of northwest DC, I have begun seeing patients there on a part-time basis. I will be offering the Natural Health Exam, to ensure continuity of their record-keeping system and to enable more effective communication about patient cases when I ask other practitioners at the Institute to participate in their care. I will also offer laboratory testing and other scientific approaches of assessment and treatment as I draw upon my extensive background in western medicine, acupuncture, homeopathy, Ayurveda, Craniosacral therapy, biofeedback, counseling, hypnotherapy, physical medicine and more.

I invite you to visit the Institute's internet site (WINMdc.com) and my own clinical site (NaturalConnectionsHealthcare.com) for more information. It is deeply rewarding for me to now include part-time practice there in support of that important Washington DC institution.

Monday, November 1, 2010

"Which lever do I pull, and when?"

Especially when someone has a complex health situation going on, they have multiple choices of assessment and treatments. Whether it is for improving health of body or mind, each person can benefit from looking at life as a process of discovering what works and what does not work for them.

First of all I advise them to learn more about "who is it that is pulling the lever?" What is their basic character type and how might that affect their ability to appreciate the different options for learning about and treating their health concern?

As a doctor of natural medicine I can give them information from these perspectives:
1. Homeopathic personality archetypes [reviewed here];
2. Traditional Chinese Medicine and emotions related to organs [introduced here];
3. Ayurvedic Medicine and personality types [introduction]; and,
4. Rayid Emotional Iridology [introduction].

After we have discovered at least some clues about their personality and neuro-emotional "hard wiring" we can then look at the Three Control Systems that each person has with which to manage their life. [See earlier blog: "Living Inside the Box".] There may be one of the three that seems to offer more return for the investment of time and energies for assessment and treatment using that control system as the starting point.

A quote from Hippocrates is appropriate here:
"It is more important to know what sort of person has a disease than to know what sort of disease a person has."

After choosing which one or more of the control systems may bring about significant improvement in health, we then move to the stage of choosing which assessments and treatments to employ.

My practitioner profile at NIHA will give you an idea of some of the assessments and treatments that I can choose. The NIHA practitioners with whom I sometimes join in integrative medicine programs for patients have an impressive list of assessments and treatments that can become part of a program of combined care if you should choose that option.

Here are two out of several aspects that I consider to be very important in deciding which step to take next:
1. Autonomic Regulation and its importance to health care: Blog--Autonomic Self-Regulation: The Power of Life; and
2. The NES ProVision bodyfield scan with Infoceutical supplements to remove distortions in the bodyfield: NES International Headquarters; NES U.S.A. Headquarters; The Living Matrix Movie (which features NES developer, Peter Fraser, acupuncture educator).

In the end, the decision about what will be most effective depends on you. I act as a coach as well as a detective and a doctor. I have always been impressed with the way people's outcomes depend on their learning about how to manage their life and then gaining access to the assessments and treatments that can help their body heal itself.

I am glad to be part of the NIHA community of clinical associates. You are invited to visit the NIHA website, read in the online Library, sign up for complimentary webcasts about current health topics and choose which practitioner(s) you would like to consider seeing to improve your health.

Sunday, October 24, 2010

Infancy to Maturity: You benefit from growth of Integrative Medicine

I have been pleased to practice at National Integrated Health Associates in Washington DC. Our community of health care practitioners offers a varied menu of options for creating an individual health support program for each patient. Each of us practitioners has had different roles in the field of health care over recent decades as medical science and healthcare practices in our nation and internationally continue to develop and mature. In a similar way to a person growing up, the body of health care knowledge has advanced to become more capable of dealing with complex issues than it could previously. And that directly benefits you the healthcare consumer.

The field of medicine has moved through an “adolescence” of awkward recognition that it was undergoing changes that it could not fully control. Now it has finally emerged into its new existence as an intricate body of knowledge and procedures that exists as part of a larger community of health care systems that each contributes to the health and wellness of human society.

Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine have become very important now that medical science is more openly admitting that it is part of a larger context and that other practitioners offer services and assessments that can also help people be healthier. You can read on the NIHA website about the offerings in Integrative Medicine and Functional Medicine.

The bottom line in the maturing process of healthcare science is that a growing percentage of medical doctors and the general public now realize that simply treating “Disease” with the “big guns” is only part of the process of becoming healthier. We think of you as being much more than a diagnosis label and encourage you to actively include both the “big things” and the “small things” as part of your integrative medicine health care program.

As a licensed naturopathic physician I often observe the effects of people breaking the seemingly insignificant natural laws that require adequate sleep, drinking enough water, getting sunshine, appropriate exercise, effective breathing, dressing and eating in harmony with the cycles of nature, and dealing with "toxic relationships" and "toxic memories."

Regarding a specific "small thing," in recent years we in the Integrative Medicine field have recognized the threat posed by microscopic organisms growing in the body (including bacteria, viruses, parasites, yeast/fungus). Treating these small things has dramatically changed the lives of people, including their mental health as well as physical improvement. As an example, treating Lyme and Co-Infections has become a major focus of NIHA practitioners. Supporting your healthy "internal community" of friendly organisms is the subject of this earlier blog entry that I wrote.

Another deep subject is the Welcome to the human family that is your birthright, and is the focus of Family Constellations therapy sessions. This helps deal with various "toxic memories" that can confuse our efforts to develop healthy relationships with self and others.

You are invited to visit the NIHA internet site and think about the many ways that our community of integrative medicine practitioners can help you move forward into a healthier future for yourself and your loved ones.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Living "Inside the Box": Your body as temple

The more I observe the intricacies of human life the more awed I am at the gift of life. As a doctor I enjoy teaching about how to move forward from where you are to an improved state of health. The more you understand the physical body and its importance to your overall existence the easier it is to make choices that support the life you were meant to have. One way that I describe human health is to recognize the Three Control Systems that each person has by which they manage their life.

Your Three Control Systems: These are: 1) your brain and motor nerves; 2) your physical body with its neurotransmitter receptors located in the gastrointestinal tract so that it can make decisions without your conscious brain; and, 3) your autonomic nervous system which acts separately, “in the background” without conscious control, to maintain for the brain and body a safer, more stable base of operations. I will write more, but first is this disclaimer:

Describing the complete "diagram" of a human being has been a task that many have sought to do. I consider it impossible for us to ever fully create a "map" of every aspect of a human being. The graphic to the right is courtesy of the Institute of HeartMath Research Center and used with permission as part of my project on what I call Human Energy Anatomy.

About your Three Control Systems:
When you work with me your integrative medicine program includes more than one step, more than one way of improving your health. I include the Three Control Systems in constructing individual integrative medicine programs.
1. Your physical body must have good food, rest and appropriate movement. We may begin with laboratory testing to check for things that are holding back your ability to physically heal (such as gastrointestinal microbial imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, heavy metal toxicity, enzyme production polymorphisms, and more).
2. Your brain needs to know what is going on, that you are doing things that will help. This is part of what I call Therapeutic Education and I may assign reading and homework such as temperature graphing and Diet Diary. The clarification of the brain's role in health is the background for the new Integrative Physical Health initiative (more information will be posted in future entries on this blog).
3. Your Autonomic Nervous System needs to sense that it is being acknowledged and supported. On my teaching site you can read more about the ANS as your Internal Protector, Dr. Stephen Porges's writings about the ANS, autonomic dysregulation and ways to treat "dysautonomia." [click here]

A lot more could be said about this way of looking at this life that we have. In closing here is a note about the “Stage” on which we live our lives:

"Outside the Box": I am convinced that there is a consciousness that is outside of these Three Control Systems, which is the You that can influence those three. This "real you" has been the subject of conjecture by philosophers and religious scholars. I classify it as being a more elemental observer and subtle influencer of the three control systems. It does not experience fear and anxiety and is always available to help the three discover successful courses of action. I consider each of those three to be perfect in its conducting its activities in accord with what it knows. I do not blame them for not being given the information or the raw materials for healthy living; that is the purpose for my teachings and my resource networking and for the work of all others in society who are dedicated to helping people experience life more fully.

Each of the Three Control Systems -- as well as the consciousness that is You -- are all worthy of the Welcome that is a key to being part of the human family (see Family Constellations). You deserve to be here and to live a full, rich life. I have written more about the reason for hope and positive outlook in earlier entries in this health support blog [back to Home].

Thursday, August 19, 2010

It's Always Been About You: Family Constellations

[play video]
My approach to counseling is to always honor the client's central position in their life. Sometimes people may criticize themselves for not living up to what their parents wanted for them. Or they may fear that they are not what their social group expects them to be. Or they may purposely give their attention to others (children, partner, family, job, etc.) and in doing so their physical body gets the message that it does not count as much as others do. The process of "sacrificing" one's own needs for the sake of others may leave their body and immune system with reduced ability to handle shocks and traumas that occur in life.

Knowing more about how the whole of you (body, brain, and autonomic nervous system) can be more effective at staying healthy and in healthy relationships can make life more meaningful and enjoyable too. I have placed extensive essays on the NIHA website -- on my Practitioner Profile -- that describe some key factors in gaining and maintaining health of the whole person. [Note: read my newer blog essay on Your Three Control Systems.]

One helpful step you can take is to attend a Family Constellation workshop. This is a type of movement and observation therapeutic experience that is unique; words do not fully explain what the experience does for people who attend. We at National Integrated Health Associates are advocates for the benefits of Constellations; check the NIHA website for upcoming events.

The video that is at the top of this page describes some of the forces behind the flow of personal dynamics in a person's relationships to the Human Family that are grounded in what their own birth parents and their ancestors have experienced.

For some people: A limited time in childhood (according to psychiatrist Clancy McKenzie, M.D.) can act as a "window of risk" in which if a child thinks or feels that it has been abandoned by the mother, there can be established a strong memory of being separated from the source of life. This can become a PTSD ("Post Traumatic Stress Disorder") event, that Dr. McKenzie has detected in the past history of his patients who have later on in their life come to him for psychiatric care for such conditions as Schizophrenia and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. There is much more information in his book, "Babies Need Mothers: How Mothers Can Prevent Mental Illness in Their Children." Introducing Dr. McKenzie and his book.

Your "assignment": After reading this description and looking at the linked pages please take time to consider the benefits of Family Constellations as a way to change a person's inner remembering process regarding their family's history of shocks and traumas.

The autonomic nervous system is integral to virtually all processes and perceptions and so it is worth it to also learn about the ANS. The ANS is affected by Family Constellation work and can be a powerful addition to Body psychotherapy and Craniosacral therapy (with Somato-Emotional Release). These all are intended to give you the client more control over your life, so that you can experience more positive changes in your health of body and mind.
I wish you a meaningful and enjoyable day today and always -- Dr. Wilson

Monday, June 28, 2010

Positive Psychology Validates Generative Function Model

This TED video presentation anchors what I have been describing on my other internet sites, and will build a better foundation to enjoy your own life as well as to understand other people in a deeper way. At NIHA this can be applied to treating Chronic Pain as well as boosting the overall positive experience of your life.

Dr. Martin Seligman is a psychologist who popularized the concept of Positive Psychology [Positive Psychology: An Introduction]. In this talk he starts by giving credit to the early scientific study of the mind such that psychology could make "miserable people" less miserable. He then talked about the need for scientifically studying what it is to be happy and how to move forward in life to go beyond "the absence of misery." He founded the Positive Psychology Center of the University of Pennsylvania which makes available these free online questionnaires [AuthenticHappiness.org] about Emotions (including Depression symptoms and Current Happiness, etc.), Life Satisfaction, Meaning, Engagement.




Now that you have viewed that lively presentation you may wonder, how can I be enthusiastic about his work when I am so dedicated to promoting the "Energy Medicine" model of health and wellness?

Both of my main sites -- My Teaching Site and My Clinical Site -- emphasize the need for honest scientific inquiry into life and health. The factor that Dr. Seligman has not added to his research is the underlying flow of energies through the body that can be seen as part of the acupuncture meridian system, for example. When you add this, his work makes good sense and gives a solid scientific background to see the need for studying the energy aspect of health. The autonomic nervous system is the central focus of a research project that I am planning to set up, using the AcuGraph digital meridian imaging technology.

In several places on my sites, especially in the Homeopathy Science section, I describe the discovery made by Samuel Hahnemann, M.D., of the existence of two aspects to the "Vital Power" that energizes our physical body. One is the "Sustentive" and the other aspect is the "Generative". The Sustentive is concerned with reducing the misery in life (maintaining the status quo, homeostasis, repair of damage, etc). The Generative aspect is what I think Dr. Seligman is declaring to be the next frontier of study (without intending to be a practitioner of "Energy Medicine").

Hahnemann's Generative aspect is the engine of creativity that makes us human. This also is related to the Triune Autonomic Nervous System model that is gaining interest now that Dr. Stephen Porges began describing it in his Polyvagal Theory.

With the new focus on "Neuroplasticity" (see earlier blog postings) we now can see how important it is to realize that we have an innate "hardwiring" of our physiology and our emotions to want to have positive things in our lives. The more we can respect that in ourselves and in others, the more effective we can be in creating a meaningful life that supports the process of healing from the shocks and traumas that are part of life. At NIHA one of the programs that this can be very important for is in the treatment of Chronic Pain.

You can read more essays -- Craniosacral therapy; NES ProVision body-field scan; Integrative Homeopathy; and more -- on my Practitioner Profile page on the NIHA website.

I wish you the full experience of positive feelings and a meaningful life. -- Dr. Wilson

Sunday, April 25, 2010

The community that is YOU: Parasites and Epigenetics

[Magazine cover image added October 2010.] My study of what other health care practitioners, therapists, and researchers are doing to help people improve their lives gives me many uplifting experiences. Below is a video of an especially enthusiastic presentation that will give you a glimpse into the complex collection of clues that I consider when I am asked to help someone with a puzzling health situation. At NIHA we offer Rejuvenation & Detoxification, Integrative Physical Health, and Integrative Medicine/Holistic Primary Care to help you be in charge of your "internal community."





Those of you who are familiar with what is being called "Functional Medicine" will recognize the term -- Epigenetics. The word "Epigenetics" introduces the new field of study that scientists discovered when they found out that just because we now can list the "Gene Sequence" of the DNA that is found in living cells, we can't tell how it controls Life.

In fact, scientists found out that we can't completely control Life by learning the DNA sequence of things. They found out that the most important factor in "gene expression" is the surrounding environment which influences which portion of the DNA is available for "transcription" into various cellular products. This surrounding environment could also be called the "Matrix" of all the influences that affect DNA activity.

If you read this after you have watched that short video by molecular biologist Bonnie Bassler, you will be ready to understand why I am so enthusiastic about the benefits of Natural Medicine when it comes to the puzzle of how to keep ourselves healthy and free of raging infections from various microbes (this includes bacteria, and parasites and likely viruses as well as far as I understand the concept of the Matrix). You can read more online in citations about her work with "Quorum Sensing" at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute by clicking on this Google search.

If you have not yet read about The Living Matrix and viewed the movie titled "The Living Matrix", I encourage you to click on the words above, The Living Matrix.

Now you will see why what Dr. Bassler describes is so very important to keeping ourselves healthy.

A caution: Because she is researching methods of creating new antibiotics Dr. Bassler's conclusions will likely be to recommend new (and expensive) medications. Her new drugs may be very helpful. However, as a Natural Medicine practitioner I will also point out that we might achieve similar results if we took action to change the matrix or the environment inside of us such as by using garlic to reduce the activity of the microbes within us.

We might also choose to improve the speed of our gastrointestinal system. Natural health practitioners often refer to "bowel health", and some even declare on the Internet that, "death begins in the colon," which is a dramatic but often sadly true statement.

[Update note about various types of "Parasites" that can live inside of our bodies: check out the article in the August 2000 Discover Magazine. The original cover art is now posted at the top of this page. The article is titled "Do Parasites Rule the World?"]

The community that is YOU:
Now that you have seen her video and learned also about The Living Matrix, I want to point out one of the biggest factors of all in keeping yourself and your loved ones healthy:

The people around you, and the world around you too (including air, water, chemicals, etc.) all have effects on how you feel and how your cells function. Usually these effects are not visible and most people never spend time thinking about how they might change their surroundings so that they could improve their health. However, these may make the difference between living a vibrant life or suffering a continuing struggle to cope.

This factor of "matrix epigenetics" is included in my earlier posting about "Neuroplasticity" [link] and the way that our brain and nerve cells are affected by what is around them. "Cells that fire together wire together," is a phrase that neuroscientists sometimes use. One way to benefit from that idea is that you are affected by the thoughts that you allow to circulate in your brain. This is where the benefits of "Mindfulness" come to the front.

In my studies of what other practitioners are doing I have developed a respect for the value of being aware of what our brains are thinking, which is the basic contribution of people who provide "Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy."

With my patients I encourage an appreciation of the "Mindfulness" approach, but I also add that they need to understand the factors that affect the mind's function such as poor nutrition, stressful electro-magnetic radiation, and "toxic relationships."

After you learn about the expanded options that come from Natural Medicine and Mental Health [link], you can focus your own study about the factors that affect your health. You can take increasing control over the influences on your health, and increase your options for choosing approaches and practitioners to help you achieve and protect vibrant health.

You can do it.

Thursday, March 18, 2010

Brain Science: "Neuroplasticity." Yes you can change your brain.

Recently I attended a powerful teleseminar hosted by the National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine [link], featuring the work of psychiatrist Jeffrey Schwartz, M.D. [link]



Dr. Schwartz is a researcher and clinician at the UCLA School of Medicine who has written a landmark book on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): "Brain Lock: Free Yourself from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder." His research has documented changes in brain function after the patient has learned how to separate out their "thinking about their thoughts." Once a person understands that they have a brain that experiences thoughts then they can look at the thoughts and decide whether to act on them or not. Eventually, the brain becomes able to judge and ignore thoughts such as "I need to wash my hands" (after the hands are in fact clean).

Brain imaging techniques have shown that the brain electrical activity patterns actually change after a period (sometimes several days, and often after some weeks or months). Dr. Schwartz spoke enthusiastically about the potential benefits that will occur when the western medical scientific community can see that the brain can be changed by mentally processing thoughts. His website has many articles, books referenced, and audio discussions of different topics about brain change, or "Neuroplasticity."

A very important factor that I have observed in the mental health field over the past decades is the deep concern that many therapists, and patients too, have about the philosophy behind the treatments that are being delivered. Dr. Schwartz spoke emphatically and with detail about the need to use scientific methods to show that the person's thinking can change the function of the brain. He also talked about the ways that Christians and Jewish people have become enthusiastic about improving the function of the brain when they understand that they have a Higher Power helping them take control of their own thoughts and their brain will benefit.

After that teleconference the moderator invited the therapists who were listening to visit the website Comment Board. I did this and added my comments to the others who represented a diversity of scientific training and a diversity of Christian, Jewish, Agnostic, Atheist viewpoints. My comments are below this section.* Religious beliefs and worldview are perhaps the most important aspect of a human being's mental life and it is an area that therapists are deeply aware of and treat with respect.

The topic of brain Neuroplasticity is one of the most important discoveries in recent years in the mental health field. I invite you all to consider the benefits of mental focus on the function of the brain and the resulting changes in emotions that can develop.

We are in a very encouraging time in human healthcare history when science is helping us to explore the rich inheritance that is ours as our human birthright. I am very glad to be here.

Wishing you full awareness of your vibrant health. -- Dr. Wilson [Clinical Site]
--------------------------
*Text from my comments [see Comment Board]

Dr. Schwartz's presentation was excellent; he spoke with knowledge and experience on some of the key issues relevant to Behavioral Medicine today. I began studies years ago to become a medical doctor at the University of Michigan School and took a leave of absence and explored alternative medicine, including study at Bastyr University for my doctorate in naturopathic medicine and MS Acupuncture.

I have a deep appreciation for the powerful impact of religious affiliation in individual mental/physical health. Listening to Dr. Schwartz brought almost a physical feeling of soothing cleansing as he described his experience learning how to describe the focus technique to Christian and Jewish people. He helped me feel much less uncomfortable about the possible stress that Christians and others might feel when being told about "Mindfulness", which has deep ties to Buddhist philosophy.

These are important days for physical/mental medicine because of the work being done with the Autonomic Nervous System and its expansion into the Triune ANS (the newest being the Social Engagement system, as setting us apart from animals) as Stephen Porges, Ph.D., [link] describes.

I have been preparing to do some research on the ANS using the AcuGraph digital meridian imaging which has correlations to emotions related to organ system status. I have links to the information of that company on my website: [AcuGraph digital meridian imaging]. It is my fervent hope that the acupuncture meridian energy changes that have been seen to change and follow emotional states can be tracked by AcuGraph and correlated with the clinical reports of therapists counsling the clients tested.

I appreciated Dr. Schwartz's caveat about the weakness of the claim, "it is quantum physics"; I will remember that when I deal with various treatments (for physical as well as mental conditions) that have been described as being based on "quantum physics." We need to gather as much scientifically plausible information as possible, and I am looking forward to reading his website and other writings of Dr. Schwartz.

Thanks so much for introducing him to us; he gave us a lot to think about and re-think about. In the end, your NICABM community of dynamic individuals around the globe is evidence that there is something much greater than ourselves that engenders the creative lives we are living. Such a marvelous diversity.

It was beyond words how rich his presentation was. Thank you once again.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Play Boosts Intelligence. Serious Health Support.

You might enjoy reading about the National Institute for Play [National Institute for Play]. The research by Stuart Brown, M.D., clearly reveals the benefits of a playful attitude and shows that it is much more than a child's activity.



In my trainings with Dietrich Klinghardt, M.D., Ph.D. we were regularly reminded that when patients are experiencing the deep psychological work that he calls Applied Psycho-Neurobiology, we practitioners should be "playfully inquisitive." That describes a kind of "play" in which the practitioner is flowing with what is important to the client rather than attempting to push events into an expected outcome.

Dr. Brown presents his material in a video that is available at the link above about his National Institute for Play. He says that play is something that adults need to do, and that it is a very intellectually stimulating activity that allows the person to move beyond the confines of rigid expectations.

This has important implications for those who are exploring the benefits of Mindfulness as described so well by our team member Charles Gant, M.D. When combined with a mindful observation of one's actions during a time of playfulness, a person can benefit from a "snapshot" of how their inner processes are working.

Sometimes the results of such a "Mindfulness snapshot" are reaffirming of our grounded and self-confident approach to life. But sometimes a person may be able to observe how they are not as flexible or creative as they would like to be. The First Aid for this is to be mindful and not allow room for disrespecting one's self. The "Cure" is to explore more deeply for hidden effects of things such as "toxic memories" and other disturbing factors that limit our autonomic nervous system's self-correcting mechanisms.

Dr. Klinghardt's Applied Psycho-Neurobiology and other techniques that are offered at NIHA by Scott Richards and Maureane O'Shaugnessy can be very powerful ways to remove "toxic memories" from childhood or traumas later in life.

The NES ProVision technology that I often use is another way of checking the functional strength of the "human bodyfield" including factors that can affect mental health. This is sometimes called a NES biophysics scan because it is based on a quantum physics approach to understanding the deeper functions of human health. The NES scan includes assessment of the bodyfield information patterns that affect emotions and mental health. This can sometimes provide major clues to the puzzle of "why can't I play?"

So, if you don't happen to feel like being playful after you have read this, check out the information linked above and consider seeing me or one our integrative medicine team. We can help you to remove the blockages to self healing and smooth out distortions in the unconscious information stored inside you.

And, speaking as a doctor of natural medicine, remember that this is the Winter season and that gradually the new energies of the Springtime will be adding their uplifting effect to your life.

Enjoy your Journey. Come visit me if you need some help doing that.

---Dr. Wilson

Friday, January 22, 2010

Natural Medicine and Mental Health

Natural Medicine is a term that introduces a large field of approaches to helping people live their lives according to the natural laws of interactions between everything on the earth and the energies that affect the conduct of life.

When you come to me and the other practitioners at the clinic, you will be receiving the benefits of a broader perspective about health than is currently the standard in western medicine.

The approaches that I use lead to insights that allow expanded options for helping people who have been given a variety of labels used in western medicine psychiatry and psychology.

Here are some of the labels that have been created to describe various conditions of the human mind and accompanying physiological conditions:

Depression: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), Dysthymia, Major Depression, PostPartum, Grief.

Bipolar Disorders: Mood Disorder, Hypomania, Mania, Cyclothymia.

Schizophrenia: Described by McKenzie as a PTSD-engendered condition [Dr. Wilson added this to list]

Addictions: Alcohol, Drugs, Co-Dependency, Sex Addiction, Internet Addiction, Shopping & Spending Addiction, Gambling.

Stress and Anxiety: Phobias, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Social Anxiety, Panic Disorders, Generalized Anxiety Disorder.

Eating Disorders: Bulimia, Anorexia.

Kids’ Mental Health: Depression, Anxiety, Attention Deficit Disorder, Conduct Disorders, Autism, Asperger’s, Tourette’s and Hyperkinetic Disorders, Eating Disorders.

Trauma: PTSD, Rape & Sexual Assault, Childhood Abuse: Mental, Physical, Sexual; Cult Trauma; Military and Veteran Issues; Spiritual Abuse; Domestic Violence.

Relationship Issues: Relationship Health and Conflict.

[This listing is from MentalHealthPros.com]

Each of the above labels was created to describe human conditions that develop from a variety of causes. When natural medicine practitioners carefully examine each of these labels -- including the knowledge that has been gained from the fields of Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Ayurvedic natural medicine, Biofeedback, and other approaches -- many factors that are not even considered by western medicine often become major starting points that can lead to treatments that bring the person to a place where the label is no longer appropriate.

I describe these factors in essays on my teaching website: [visit the site].

There are excellent essays in the NIHA Library: [visit the site].

If you or someone you love is seeking help for any condition that has been given a label such as the ones above, please consider the services that I and my associates can provide. Most of our therapies can be provided as part of an Integrative Medicine program. Many patients will continue using the treatments that their primary physician provides. We offer to work with you so that you can get "the best of both worlds."

I wish you good health and wisdom in making your choices --

Dr. Ralph Wilson Washington DC