Miscellaneous Therapies and Techniques

The main text of this book has covered the more popular and better known alternative therapies and health techniques. However, as in the case of the mantic arts, there are literally hundreds of others less known and with a proportionate following. This brief summation is for reference rather than utility.

Absent Healing:
A form of faith healing in which the practitioner and patient are not in the same vicinity. Edgar Cayce and Harry Edwards were two of the better known distant healers.

Actualism:
A form of yoga embracing the holistic concept of body, mind and spirit.

Acuscope Therapy:
A device utilising a weak electric current applied to acupuncture points to "normalise" them.

Acu-yoga:
A combination of self-applied acupressure and yogic postures to stimulate acupoints and energy paths.

Aikido:
A vitalistic health practice employing self-defence methods to debilitate opponents.

Alchemical hypnotherapy:
A form of hypnotism combining a synthesis of techniques and concepts from Jungian and transpersonal psychology, past-life therapy and shamanism, alleged to assist, in working with one's Inner Guides.

Amino Acid Therapy:
Supplements of pure amino acids in the form of powder, capsules or pills. Most sales are through health food stores to be taken in conjunction with vitamins and minerals to treat a variety of illnesses.

Anderson S.A. & Raiten D.J. (eds.) reporting in the July, 1992 issue of Experimental Biology note that the eosinophilia-myalgia syndrome epidemic has raised questions about the safety of amino adds sold as dietary supplements. These products were "used primarily for pharmacological purposes or enhancement of physiological function rather than for nutritional purposes".

No scientific rationale has been presented to justify the taking of amino acid supplements by healthy individuals. The same caution should be applied to their use as with supplements in general.

Amma:
A relaxation technique based on Chinese Qi gong and similar to Shiatsu.

Annette Martin Training:
Clairvoyant diagnosis employing Edgar Cayce techniques.

Applied Physiology:
A system of stress management procedures, utilising muscle/facial monitoring and biofeedback. Applied Kinesiology is used in conjunction with the acupuncture meridian network to get a "readout" of energy related to a particular organ or body system.

Astara's healing science:
A New Age church of Mystical Christianity based in California, offering spiritual healing using crystals, spirit entities, prayer, visualisation and "magnetic energies".

Aston-Patterning:
An integrated system that utilises movement education, different forms of soft tissue bodywork, and environmental consultation and modifications to relieve pain and restore ease of movement.

Somewhat similar to Rolfing and the Alexander and Feldenkrais techniques.

Aurasomatherapy:
A mix of colour therapy and chakra healing developed by British clairvoyant Vicky Wall. Practitioners use pseudo- diagnosis and coloured bottles containing emulsions of essential oils, herbal extracts and scents, to "revitalise" and "rebalance" the human aura.

Autogenic Training:
Also known as Autogenics. A system of simple mental
(meditative) exercises which consciously focuses the
creative power of the mind on relaxation and awareness.

Awareness Oriented Structural Therapy:
A psychophysical approach to bodywork involving the body/mind concept. Elements are taken from various therapies such as Structural Integration, Connective Tissue Therapy, Deep Tissue Therapy and Polarity Therapy. Principally massage and stimulation.

Benjamin System of Muscular Therapy:
A combination of treatment, exercise, and education designed to reduce chronic muscular tension. Influenced by the techniques of Dr. Alfred Kagan, F. M. Alexander, Dr. James H. Cyriax and Dr. Wilhelm Reich. A combination of deep massage treatment, posture and movement training.

Bioenergetics:
An offshoot of Reichian therapy. A technique utilising various bodywork methods and exercises to help one become aware of tensions in the body, and to release them through appropriate movement. Also involved is verbal exploration of emotional conflicts.

Bodywork:
This term generally applies to any modality that involves touching, manipulation or exercise of the body. Often involved is the supposed realignment of the chakras and energy fields, the "cleansing" of auras and the removal of blockages to the flow of "energy".

Bonnie Prudden Myotherapy:
Also known as the Bonnie Prudden Technique, is a method of relieving muscular pain by the application of pressure to an area within the muscle known as the trigger point. These are located throughout the entire body. The physician palpates an area to locate a tender spot indicating a trigger point, and then injects a medication into it. This is followed by a gentle stretching of the muscle and the area is sprayed with a coolant.

Burton Treatment:
Immuno-Augmentative Therapy (IAT), is a cancer therapy developed by zoologist Dr. Lawrence Burton Ph.D.

Following an investigation of mammalian carcinogenesis, Dr. Burton and a team of researchers developed an inhibitory protein which induced long-term remission in mice. He claimed that IAT could control all forms of cancer by restoring natural immune defences. No details of clinical reports, methods or statistics, were ever published. Experts have shown that the substances he claims to use cannot be produced by his methods and do not exist in the human body.

In 1974, when Dr. Burton failed to complete a satisfactory application to the FDA to test humans in the United States, he established a clinic on Grand Bahama Island. A follow-up by Dr. William Nolan, M.D., in 1982, disclosed that most of Dr. Burton's patients didn't have cancer.

In 1985, public health officials found antibodies to the AIDS virus in vials of serum, suggesting that contaminated blood had been used to prepare IAT treatment materials.

A year later, the Congressional Office of Technological Assessment (OTA) concluded that "no reliable data are available on which to base a determination of ITA's efficacy". Burton died in 1993. His clinic is still operating.

Callanetics:
An exercise programme named after its developer, Callan Pinckney. A set of exercises designed to work on a specific part of the body.

Channeling:
Information supposedly received from the spirits of the dead or non-physical entities. Often purported to be from advanced civilisations located in far off galaxies.

The information never surpasses that already available on Earth, nor is any evidence forthcoming by which the alleged source of information can be authenticated.

Chi Nei Tsang:
A traditional Taoist massage technique applied in the abdomen and directed to the internal organs. Through direct stimulation and manipulation of muscles, tendons, intestines and organs, Chi Nei Tsang is alleged to dissolve the knots and entanglements resulting from stress and tension.

Chirognomy:
A form of palmistry based on the shape of the hands. Used as a pseudo-diagnosis, supposedly indicating one's predisposition to various physical ailments.

Christian Science:
A religious denomination formed by Mary Baker Eddy in 1877. Her philosophy was that illness is an illusion caused by faulty beliefs and that prayer alone can heal. Christian Science practitioners do not use medications and are opposed to vaccination and immunisation.

Evidence of the efficacy of prayer appears to be confined to testimonials published in the official organ of the church, The Christian Science Sentinel.

Several suits have been brought against Christian Science nurses for deaths of children who died because they did not receive essential medical care.

There is no more persistent threat than the religion- motivated medical neglect of children.

Connective Tissue Massage:
A type of German bodywork used to relieve pain and treat a wide variety of problems. Using a similar principle to the Bonnie Prudden trigger therapy, it is alleged that if a specific area on the skin is stimulated it will affect the tissues and internal organs in distant areas of the body.

Contact Healing:
An age-old healing process based on the idea that a healthy person can transmit vital or healing energy to a sick person. Faith healing, Therapeutic Touch, Reiki and the "laying on of hands" are examples.

Cryotherapy:
A standard treatment. The application of cold, usually ice, to various parts of the body. Particularly effective in treating injuries such as a sprained ankle, swelling and inflammation.

Cytotoxic testing:
An expensive test used by psychiatrist Stuart Berger, M.D., in which samples of a patient's blood plasma and white blood cells are added to samples of dried food and examined under a microscope. Controlled experiments have determined that there is no evidence to substantiate this testing procedure.

DMSO Therapy:
A chemical compound known as dimethyl sulfoxide, administered for a number of health problems — orally, topically as a liquid or cream, or by injecting intramuscularly or intravenously. A sterile preparation is available as a prescription drug approved for treating a rare bladder condition called interstitial cystitis but has no other proven usefulness. It has also been touted as a remedy for arthritis pain.

DMSO has been prematurely promoted as a medical breakthrough. As yet, there is inadequate evidence of its efficacy and long-term effects.

Electrotherapy:
Electrotherapy is the use of electrical current for a variety of therapeutic purposes including the relief of pain and muscle soreness, nerve stimulation, reduction of swelling and speeding up of the healing process.

Electrical nerve stimulators (ENS) or electrical muscle stimulators (EMS) are approved for use in physical therapy by trained health practitioners for relaxing muscle spasms, preventing blood dots, increasing circulation and strengthening atrophied muscles.

Cheaper versions than those used in physiotherapy are available to the consumer. These will supposedly give you the benefits of vigorous exercise without any physical effort. There is however, no evidence to support such claims.

In untrained hands, ENS/EMS devices can cause electric shocks, and should not be used on pregnant women, by persons with heart problems or epilepsy.

Other diagnostic and supposed healing therapies involving electrical currents include EAV (electro-acupuncture according to Reinhold Voll, M.D.) a pseudoscientific method of diagnosing the "electromagnetic energy flow" along meridians to treat "imbalances". Electro-acupuncture, whereby acupoints are stimulated with weak electric currents in lieu of needles, and Electromagnetic healing, a form of acupuncture without needles purportedly using "tachyon energy". Again, there is no scientific support for any of these methods.

Etheric surgery:
A mix of aura balancing and psychic surgery whereby the "physician" performs an "operation" without the use of surgical instruments, and in most cases, without touching the patient. Both have been shown to have no scientific or medical support.

Feingold Diet:
In 1973, Dr. Benjamin Feingold, a paediatric allergist from California, postulated that food additives such as artificial colours and flavours, caused hyperactivity in children. A chemicals-free diet is suggested to overcome this condition. The Feingold Association of America, recommends specially prepared home-made foods, and a complete avoidance of many non-food items such as toothpaste, perfume, mouthwash and some over-the- counter prescription drugs.

Some success has been reported by those parents following the recommendations (probably for reasons other than the diet), but carefully designed experiments have provided little support for the idea that additives cause hyperactivity.

Gerovital therapy:
Gerovital (GH3) was developed in Romania by Dr. Anna Aslan who claimed it to be "the secret of eternal vigor and youth". It is one of many "life extension" products that does not stand up to scrutiny. Its principal ingredient is procaine, a local anesthetic, and controlled trials have failed to substantiate the claims that it can prevent or relieve a wide variety of disorders including arthritis, heart conditions, Parkinson's disease, depression, impotence and senile psychosis.

Glandular supplements:
Based on the concept of similars which erroneously posits that the eating of certain parts of an animal's body will enhance the performance of the corresponding part in the human body.

The supplements consist of dehydrated glandular or organ tissue taken in the form of tablets or capsules. However, because the hormones have been removed during processing and are digested before being absorbed into the body, they exert no special physiological function.

Greek Cancer Cure:
A serum prepared by microbiologist Dr. Hariton-Tzanis Alivizatos of Athens, Greece, who died in 1991. He claimed to have a blood test that could determine the type, location and severity of any cancer, and that his serum enabled the patient's immune system to destroy cancer cells. The principal ingredient was believed to be niacin. Although the American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute requested information on his methods, there were no replies.

Hakomi Method:
The Hakomi Method of Body Mind Therapy, is a process for discovering core beliefs (self-limiting beliefs formed in childhood and stored in the subconscious). The objective being to facilitate personal growth and transformation by reevaluating those beliefs, adopting more satisfying options.

Its origins stem from Buddhism and Taoism and draw on other mind/body techniques such as Reichian work, Bioenergetics, Feldenkrais, Hypnosis and Neurolinguistic Programing.

Hellerwork:
Developed by Joseph Heller, a former director of the Rolf Institute in Boulder, Colorado.

A form of bodywork utilising deep tissue massage and verbal dialogue to assist the client in becoming more aware of emotional stress that may be related to physical tension.

Hippotherapy:
A therapy developed to retrain a patient to balance or stabilise his torso. Something while automatic in healthy people, must be learned by those with motor dysfunction.

Horses are used for Hippotherapy. When the patient is seated on a horse with their legs freely hanging down the sides, the motion of the horse's moving back is transferred to the patient's torso causing a reciprocating movement of the pelvis, hip joint and lower spine.

Particular success has been claimed when treating children with cerebral motor disorders, and sufferers from multiple sclerosis who have difficulty in maintaining their balance.

Holotropic Breathwork:
Similar to Rebirthing. A combination of breathing, music, bodywork and the drawing of mandalas. A process developed in 1976 by psychiatrist Stanislav Grof, M.D., that supposedly accesses "buried memories" and frees up emotional blockages.

Hoshino Therapy:
Developed by Japanese acupuncturist Professor Tomezo Hoshino, the therapy is basically an acupressure system combined with the massage of selected acupoints located directly over the muscles, tendons and ligaments. The treatment is complemented by a programme of four exercises involving the chest, knee, shoulder and spine.

Imagery:
Also known as Mental Imagery Creative Imagery, Guided Imagery and Creative Visualisation, it is the use of images or symbols to focus the mind on the workings of the body. It is the conscious creation of positive thoughts to achieve a desired outcome. While this form of psychotherapy may help enhance a patient's control by encouraging a positive attitude, there is no evidence to support the idea that emotions directly influence the course of disease.

Jin Shin Jyutsu:
A form of shiatsu involving light manual pressure to acupoints along selected meridians, or passing the hands over areas without contact. There are 26 points called "safety energy locks" through which the vital life force energy is supposed to flow. When these points become blocked, pain or discomfort results. Practitioners claim to be able to clear these blockages by applying gentle pressure on a combination of any two of the 26 points. As with other acupuncture variants, the idea of meridians, life force energy and blockages, there is no science-based support.

Kirlian Photography:
Kirlian photography is used by some psychic healers who claim that it demonstrates changes in the body's "energy field" or "aura". It can therefore, be used as a diagnostic tool.

Kirlian photography in fact, has nothing to do with proving the existence of a supposed life force. It evidences an electromagnetic anomaly which is produced by a reaction between the photographic paper and the object placed upon it, a phenomenon known as a corona discharge in air. Furthermore, both animate and inanimate objects have been shown to radiate auras negating the idea of a "life force".

Any changes in the photographs interpreted as indicative of a health condition are attributable to pressure contact between the object and the camera and electrical grounding.

Livingston-Wheeler Treatment:
A treatment based upon immunological enhancement claimed to strengthen a patient's natural immune defence system to fight disease. The therapies and techniques include vaccines, diet and nutrition, vitamins, psychological counselling and the use of antibiotics.

The originator of the treatment, the late Dr. Virginia Livingston, M.D., (she died in 1990), believed that cancer is caused by a microbe she called progenitor cryptocides that she claimed lived within the body of every individual. Disease is caused only when the body's immune system is depressed or weakened.

Although Dr. Livingston claimed to have a very high recovery rate, she published no clinical data in support.

Attempts by scientists to isolate the organism she postulated were not successful, and samples alleged to be Progenitor cryptocides were proven to be strains of other bacteria.

In 1986, Californian health authorities ordered the Livingston-Wheeler Clinic to stop administering a vaccine derived from the urine of patients attending the clinic, and excluded the clinic from Medicare and Medicaid.

Mucusless Diet:
A pseudoscientific method, the Mucusless Diet Healing System was developed by a professor of drawing, Arnold Ehret (1866-1922), born in Baden, Germany. Professor Ehret taught that every disease was actually constipation, and that the uneliminated feces in the large intestine was the cause of continual poisoning of the bloodstream and other body systems.

He advocated a diet of raw and cooked fruits, starchless vegetables, and raw or cooked leafy green vegetables. The diet was combined with long and short term fasting with varying menus of foods that Ehret believed do not produce mucus in the body.

Naprapathy:
A variant of chiropractic developed by Oakley Smith early this [20th] century. A system of treatment based on the idea that contractions of the body's soft tissue cause illness by interfering with neurovascular function. The practice is basically manipulation, particularly of the ligaments encasing the spinal column. Practitioners also utilise nutritional, postural, and exercise counselling.

Orthomolecular Therapy:
Sometimes referred to as megavitamin therapy, it is the treatment of disease by varying the concentration of nutrients normally present in the body for good health.

Proponents claim that abnormal behaviour is caused by molecular imbalances that are correctable, and that their treatment is effective against many diseases. Included among the claims were alcoholism, allergies, arthritis, autism, epilepsy, hypertension, hypoglycemia, migraine headaches and other conditions.

In 1973, an American Psychiatric Association task force investigated the claims of megavitamin and orthomolecular therapists and concluded:

"This review and critique has carefully examined the literature produced by megavitamin proponents and by those who have attempted to replicate their basic and clinical work. It concludes in this regard that the credibility of the megavitamin proponents is low. Their credibility is further diminished by a consistent refusal over the past decade to perform controlled experiments and to report their new results in a scientifically acceptable fashion.

"Under these circumstances, the Task Force considers the massive publicity they promulgate via radio, the lay press and popular books, using catch phrases which are really misnomers like "megavitamin therapy" and "orthomolecular treatment", to be deplorable".

The Research Advisory Committee of the National Institute of Mental Health reviewed pertinent scientific data through 1979, and agreed not only that it was ineffective but that it could also be harmful.

Claims that mega doses of supplements are effective against psychosis, learning disorders and mental retardation in children have also been refuted by the American Academy of Pediatrics and by the Canadian Academy of Pediatrics in 1981 and 1990 respectively. Both groups warned that there is no proven benefit and that megadoses can have serious toxic effects.

Passive Exercise:
Various mechanical devices are available. Bicycles, machines that rock and roll, and electrically operated massagers, usually in health and weight reduction salons, that are touted as weight reducing aids without needing physical exertion. However, while they may produce temporary relaxation, weight reduction requires exercise in which calories are burned off as a result of physical exertion.

Pritikin Diet:
The Pritikin Lifetime Eating Plan is a diet regimen low in fats, cholesterol, protein and highly refined carbohydrates. It stresses minimally processed foods such as vegetables, fruits and grains, while meat and fish intake are restricted. The almost vegetarian thetis part of an overall programme that includes exercise and forbids alcohol and tobacco intake.

Although the Pritikin diet can reduce blood cholesterol levels, the high fibre content may cause abdominal cramps, bloating, and diarrhoea. Basically, the overall approach is similar to conventional therapy for cardiac patients but uses a more restrictive diet.

Schuessler Cell Salts:
Also known as Tissue-Salts or Schuessler Remedies, these homoeopathic remedies are attributed to nineteenth-century homoeopathic physician Wilhelm Heinrich Schuessler of Oldenberg, Germany.

Schuessler postulated that as body tissue and organs are dependent on certain inorganic salts for health and vitality, when one or more is missing from the body, some abnormal condition would result.

Homoeopathic manufacturers market twelve highly diluted mineral products called "cell salts" or "tissue salts" claimed to be effective against a wide variety of diseases. However, they are so highly diluted that they could not correct a mineral deficiency even if one were present.

From: Edwards, H. 1999 Alternative, Complementary, Holistic & Spiritual Healing, Australian Skeptics Inc.