***Networking As Healing - Part 3

The Doctor-Healer Network - North America (DHN-NA), scattered geographically across the US and Canada, meets for monthly two-hour telephone conference calls. In the DHN-UK, participants are a mix of doctors who are healers and doctors who work together with healers. In the DHN-NA all participants are professional caregivers who are themselves also healers. We start off with a sharing of our 'leading edge,' and conversation often continues spontaneously around the personal and professional issues raised in these introductions. Sometimes we also chew on a question or issue raised by a member ahead of time or at the meeting. In addition to the collegial support around methodologies, there is support in dealing with the challenges that several of the participants find when interfacing with colleagues and institutions where their work is not well understood or completely accepted. (The last sentence is definitely British understatement!) nnI was delighted to hear from Bill Manahan, MD (a colleague in the American Holistic Medical Association) of a similar networking group he has facilitated for many years. n nWe have a listserve of about 120 physicians from Minnesota who are interested in holistic medicine. We meet three times each year on a Saturday morning from 9 to 12:30. We usually meet at the home of one of the physicians from the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. About 25 physicians show up each time. We spend about two hours allowing each person to share what is on her or his mind. Frequently that is about work transitions going on in their lives. Other times it is about personal things such as medical problems, interesting conferences or workshops, books that excited them, or medical problems within their personal lives. We take a break for 30 minutes, and then we have a one-hour program presented by one of the members. It is on any topic from grief, to heavy metal toxicity, to chakras. nnI think one reason we continue to get such excellent attendance after 16 years of meetings is because of the heart sharing that occurs during the two hours of 'telling our story.' I introduce it each time as just a time to share with the group whatever is presently on their mind, going on in their lives, or is of importance to them right now. nnFrom a member of this group, here is a personal report on the healing she experienced through networking: nnI initially joined in 2002, right after my second son was born, I had just taken the American Board of Holistic Medicine exams, and I was looking for some guidance in my life. At the time, my professional practice group was splitting up, and there was a lot of conflict. Also, I was frustrated with managed care (US insurance companies) attitudes toward patients. In my local Holistic Area Resource Person (HARPS) group I found people who wanted to make a difference in the medical community. Their values resonated with me. I needed connection to the healer in me, and I needed to have some balance in my life. I started a new practice, not because of being inspired by others who had done so, (being so new to the group, I really hadn't heard too many stories) for me it was out of desperation. I wanted to stay in the same community, I wanted to practice with people I liked and trusted. I did not want to work for someone else. What I got from the community were role models. People who lived their values. People who brought their purpose in life to work. I gained new insights into how I wanted my life and career to fit together, to balance. I saw a passion and vibrancy in medicine that I had not seen since Medical School. I was inspired to do my best to bring those things to my new clinic. nnI keep going because of the connections. The friends you make here are friends you will keep. We may not get together outside of our meetings, but we connect through patients, email and conferences. The educational sessions are also very helpful. Many of us are experts in our own special interests. There is no way to keep up on every topic, but by sharing our knowledge and through respectful discussions we all benefit. n nI believe others find inspiration in the meetings. Inspiration to live their authentic life. Inspiration to take a chance on themselves and move forward to better work environments, or just inspiration to practice medicine in a way that feels right to them. We all find connection and solidarity. It is nice to know you are not alone in the world in how you are thinking. n nI see our group as still in the fledgling stage. Many of us are just taking flight. My hope is that as we mature we will find a way collectively to be of service. I think our group shows the potential to do great things. Bill and Carolyn do a wonderful job in encouraging and nurturing the group. I am greatly appreciative of the support and encouragement I have received. n nThank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts. nnNoel A. Radcliffe MD n nnIn summary, networking can facilitate wholistic healing on many levels. Through mutual support, participants can share, learn and grow - personally, professionally and collectively. n nI am grateful to Bill Manahan and Mary Ann Wallace for their editorial suggestions and contributions to this paper, and to Martina Steiger for her editorial inputs. nnDaniel J. Benor, MD, ABHM is a wholistic psychiatric psychotherapist who teaches innovative self-healing techniques and consults on networking and research in CAM, recently having relocated to Canada. He will be visiting in England in November, 2007 to offer workshops in WHEE - the Wholistic Hybrid derived from Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), his schedule posted at http://wholistichealingresearch.com/scheduledworkshops.html n n1. Annual conferences of SMN, ISSSEEM www.issseem.org n2. The Council for Healing, discussed below www.councilforhealing.orgn3. An interesting example is The Norway-China Cooperation regarding Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), facilitating international exchanges of information and support in promoting TCM in these countries www.uit.no/nafkam/norge-kina/2#bakgr n4. Examples of this form of networking are Network and The International Journal of Healing and Caring www.ijhc.org n5. An outstanding example of development of content through networking is the collaborative creation of the naturopathic diagnostic and treatment compendium, www.icaduceus.com. n6. See www.healthy.net/ n7. See Myers Briggs Inventory at www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/JTypes2.asp; Keirsey Temperaments www.keirsey.com/matrix.html n8. The Archive of Scientists' Transcendent Experiences www.issc-taste.org/arc/dbo.cgi?set=expo&ss=1 n9. www.emofree.com n10. See collections of party-type balloon creations www.balloonhq.com/photos/ n11. www.councilforhealing.org/Ethics.html n12. Clicking on the icons at the top of the following home page provides a discussion of the interrelationships between the elements in wholistic healing: www.ijhc.org. nnThis article appeared as Benor, Daniel J. Networking as healing, Network Review: J. of the Scientific and Medical Network, 2007, 93, 19-22. nnResources for exploring messages from your body nWHEE: Whole Health - Easily and Effectively®nAKA nWholistic Hybrid derived from EMDR and EFTn Potent self-healing method for releasing emotional and physical stress, pains, residues of traumasn Workbook Paperback - WHEE for pain Articles Workshops nnResources for explaining the mind-body connection nnBenor, Daniel J. Healing Research, Volume II: (Professional edition)nConsciousness, Bioenergy and Healing, Bellmawr, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications 2004. n Thorough review of research validating the efficacy of self-healing, wholistic complementary/ alternative medicine (CAM), biological energies, and environmental interactions with bioenergies.n “Book of the Year” award - The Scientific and Medical Network, UKn Paperback, CD-ROM or e-Book of Consciousness, Bioenergy and Healing n (15% author’s discount on V2. Professional edition paperback and CD-ROM worldwide, and free postage in the US)nnBenor, Daniel J. Healing Research, Volume II: (Popular edition)nHow Can I Heal What Hurts? Wholistic Healing and Bioenergies,Bellmawr, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications 2005 n Popular edition Explains self-healing, wholistic complementary/ alternative medicine (CAM) and bioenergies, and discusses ways in which n you can heal yourself.n (15% author’s discount on V2. Popular edition paperback worldwide, and free postage in the US ) nnDevelop and deepen your intuition and personal spiritualityn nHealing Research, V. 3n Personal Spirituality: Science, Spirit and the Eternal Soul, Bellmawr, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications (November 2006)n n Reaching Higher and Deepe Workbook for Healing Research, Volume 3: Personal Spirituality: Bellmawr, NJ: Wholistic Healing Publications 2007