Is Spiritual Healing A Valid And Effective Therapy?
Discussion Paper
R D Hodges, PhD; A M Schofield, PhD
Department of Biological Sciences, Wye College (University of London), Wye, Ashford, Kent, TN25 5AH, UK.
Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, Volume 88, April 1995
Correspondence to Dr R D Hodges
J R Soc Med 1995; 88, 203-207
Keywords: spiritual healing; healing mechanism; healing research; strategies
SUMMARY
This paper briefly reviews the evidence supporting the reality of healing as a scientifically-attested phenomenon, the techniques and mechanisms of healing and the potential value of this therapy if it were integrated into the medical services. The need for further extensive research is indicated and strategies for such research are suggested.
INTRODUCTION
Medical science had made tremendous advances in health care but in doing so has raised both the cost and patients’ expectations of medical treatments. The costs of the National Health Service now form a significant part of GDP and seem set to continue rising. Thus it may become necessary to ration health care in the future1,2. A new approach to solving this problem would be to develop low-cost, effective therapies which would allow a more efficient use of available funding whilst helping to maintain the level and quality of health care.
Healing, of the type known as spiritual, mental, faith or paranormal healing, is potentially such a therapy. However, available evidence, although demonstrating that healers can improve the health of patients by mechanisms other than those suggested by the British Medical Association in its original, 1986, report on alternative medicine3, i.e. psychological effects resulting from healers spending longer with the patient than conventional doctors, is at present not enough to overcome resistance against the development and incorporation of healing as a recognised therapy. In spite of such resistance, however, there have recently been significant changes in official attitudes towards healers and other complementary practitioners. Thus the General Medical Council has amended its ethical rule book to allow doctors to delegate patient care to such practitioners, and the Department of Health has changed its administrative rules to allow general practitioners (GPs) to employ these practitioners in their practices4,5.
Healing consists of a simple, direct relationship between healer and patient through which an improvement in the patient’s condition may occur. The mechanisms underlying healing acts are usually explained on the basis of the transmission of ‘healing energy’, although as yet there is little understanding of what sort of energy may be involved. However, both healers and patients are frequently aware of the flow of what is best described as energy and thus healing can be simply defined as:
The direct interaction between one individual and a second, sick individual with the intention of bringing about an improvement or cure of the illness. Any healing effect results from the channelling of an, as yet unrecognised, energy through the healer to the patient.
The purpose of this discussion paper is to examine the evidence in favour of healing, to consider its potential value for patient care and to suggest the steps necessary for its acceptance as a scientifically-valid therapy complementary to medicine.
THE REALITY OF HEALING
The evidence in favour of healing as a phenomenon with an objective reality which can be measured and investigated is twofold:
The Historical Record
There is an extensive historical record concerning healing which provides substantial evidence in favour of its reality. For example, in western, Christian culture there is a considerable literature of healing6-9. However, although all ages have produced accounts of successful healings, this evidence must be viewed with care because:
(a) Almost all such records are anecdotal evidence and cannot be assumed to be proven
scientifically. Similarly, the quality of historical accounts varies greatly.
(b) Historically attitudes to disease and healing differed greatly at different times and thus
care must be taken in interpreting the older records particularly. Nevertheless, studies such as that by Gardner9 may suggest close parallels between some modern and older healings.
Table 1 A summary of some of the more significant research results showing a positive healing effect, as reviewed by Benor19.
| Subject of healing | Researcher(s) | Summary of results | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Effects on enzymes Human platelet monoamine oxidase Effects on micro-organisms Inhibition of fungal cultures Carbon dioxide production in yeast cultures Effects on cells in-vitro Red blood cell haemolysis Red blood cell haemolysis Effects on plants Barley seeds Effects on animals Skin wounds in mice Retardation of goitre in mice Effects on humans Increase in blood haemoglobin levels Anxiety state in cardiac patients |
Rain, 1986* Barry, 1968 Grad, 1965 Braud et al, 1979 Braud, 1988 Grad, 1965 Grad, 1965 Grad, 1965 Krieger, 1975 Heidt, 1979 |
Increased enzyme levels Decrease in fungal growth Change in CO2 production Reduction in haemolysis Reduction in haemolysis Reduced effect of saline damage Increased rate of wound healing Slower thyroid growth Increase in Hb post-treatment Reduced levels of anxiety |
P<0.001 P<0.001 P<0.0005 P<0.001 P<0.00002 P<0.001 P<0.001 P<0.001 P<0.01-0.001 P<0.01-0.001 |
*References quoted in Benor (Ref 19)
However, the extensive amount of anecdotal evidence available, particularly from this century, is such that it cannot be ignored. Although single accounts can be rejected as unreliable, taken together the whole body of evidence indicates that there is a phenomenon worth investigating further. In this context, MacEoin10 has argued the case in favour of good anecdotal evidence.
The Scientific Evidence
The literature concerning experimental investigations into healing and related phenomena has been widely reviewed11-18. However, although many laboratory experiments have been performed on animals, plants and micro-organisms, many have been concerned with demonstrating psychokinetic (PK) effects rather than the recovery of sick organisms; seeking for example, to influence growth or behaviour rather than to heal.
A recent review by Benor19 has concentrated specifically on healing research. In assessing work performed since 1952, Benor concluded that, of 136 controlled experiments, 56 significantly demonstrated a positive effect of healing. A variety of models or conditions have been used with significant results and a range of these are summarised in Table 1. Most recently, Benor20 has produced a detailed review and assessment of all published healing research.
Our own research21,22 has concentrated upon demonstrating the ability of a gifted healer, known personally to us21. The model used in these experiments was that of salt-stressed cress seeds, thus providing a ‘diseased’ organism which could react positively to healing. The results of the experiments, which were repeated six times, showed that the healer was capable of stimulating seed recovery and growth at a very high level of statistical significance in five of the six experiments and to a lesser degree in the other, and were thus a specific demonstration of a healing effect (see Figure 1).
Clearly, a body of sound research has now been accumulated which for many supports the reality of healing beyond reasonable doubt20, 23-26 and provides evidence that healing can occur when psychological factors, which may manifest as the placebo response, have been eliminated or allowed for in the analysis. When combined with the mass of anecdotal evidence already described, it may be concluded that the reality of healing has been demonstrated. However, because many scientists and doctors still regard this as unproven, there is a need for further detailed research to place healing on a more substantial footing in the mainstream of science and medicine.
Nevertheless, there is increasing public interest in healing with many people seeking help from healers and other complementary therapists27. In the main healing organisations alone there are more than 8,000 registered healers who are involved in treating patients both within and outside the National Health Service (NHS). In parallel, a growing interest is developing among many doctors, particularly GPs. Healing is increasingly being seen as a technique which can provide benefits to patients with a wide range of ailments; but relatively inexpensively and without the side-effects which may arise from treatments provided by modern medicine. Thus, the development of healing as a scientifically-based therapy and its wider availability could be of benefit to both medicine and the individuals it seeks to help.
Figure 1
Germination and growth patterns of cress seeds in relation to treatment by a healer. All seeds were soaked overnight in either salt-solution (salt-stressed) or in distilled water (normal, unstressed). After treatment, all seeds were placed in a controlled environmental chamber and assessed daily using a pre-determined scale of germination and growth. The upper line in the graph (D) shows the normal pattern of growth in unstressed seeds. The lowest pair of lines (control, r; untreated, A) show that there are no significant differences between seeds which were stressed but not handled by the healer and those which were stressed and held but not healed by him. The centre line (treated, c) represents the growth of seeds which were stressed and then healed. The vertical bars represent standard deviations and the separation between the healed and the unhealed lines represents a very high degree of significance between healed and unhealed groups of seeds, with P varying between 6.7 x 10–6 and 3.3 x 10-9. (From Hodges, Scofield, J Act Compl Med 1991; 9 (9):11-12, with permission).
THE TECHNIQUES OF HEALING
Some of the better known techniques of healing are:
1 Faith healing: This occurs in a religious context, usually during a church service or in the form of prayer groups for healing 28.
2 Spiritual healing: In Britain this is the most commonly-used name for healing using the
laying-on-of-hands, the technique most widely used. This method does not require faith
from the patient. Healing is administered by placing the hands on, or close to the
patient’s body. A variation of this technique is distant healing, where the healer directs
healing intentions to the patient situated elsewhere. There is evidence both in favour of
29-31, and against32, a positive effect of distant healing. Research suggests that distant
healing is not based on electromagnetic energies33.
3 Therapeutic touch: This is very similar to spiritual healing except that the healer works
just above the surface of the body34, 35. It is one of the few healing techniques which has
made any significant headway within the health professions, particularly in the USA. It
has been tested in a limited number of research trials with some significantly positive
results19, 20, 35, 36.
4 Reiki healing: Reiki is a system of healing which was developed in Japan37. It uses both
laying-on-of-hands and distant healing techniques. Little testing has been done on Reiki healing but one test has shown significant changes in some blood parameters37.
THE MECHANISM OF HEALING
Almost without exception healers describe the transmission and balancing of energies as being the basis of their work with patients and consider that their effectiveness is based on more than psychological factors or the placebo response. Although, at present, there are only very tenuous theoretical foundations underlying healing, the idea of energy transfer is a concept central to its practice and the theory proposing a subtle, universal form of energy which is activated during the process of healing is a regularly recurring theme throughout the literature of this subject 25, 35, 38-40. Observation and practice strongly suggest that the energies associated with healing may be outside the known electro-magnetic spectrum and thus at present unrecognised by science.
The following hypothesis is suggested to explain the mechanisms of healing:
That there is some form of energy, or spectrum of energies, of a nature which is at present undetected by normal scientific methods, and that this energy is fundamental to the well-being of life. Illness and disease either cause, or are the result of imbalances or blockages in the normal flow of this energy in the affected organism. The purpose of the healer is to channel the energy from what is usually termed a “higher” source into the patient where, firstly, it increases the energy levels and flows, and re-establishes a balance; secondly, it activates the natural healing force (the vis medicatrix naturae) within patients, helping them to heal themselves and to return towards a state of normality. In many patients healing treatment brings help and improvement in the condition, occasionally it may bring the rapid or instantaneous cure of serious conditions.
This hypothesis is supported both by the practical experience of many healers and also by the scientific research described above. However, whether one accepts the above account as a working hypothesis, or whether one seeks a more conventional explanation, there is a great need for further research into both the mechanisms and effects of healing because it has considerable potential value in the treatment of illness, disease and injury.
THE VALUE OF HEALING
No system of treating the sick can guarantee a cure and healing is no exception to this. Nevertheless, after treatment by a healer, patients normally receive benefit on one or more of three levels – body, mind and spirit – and also in their general quality of life41.
The important aspects of the value of healing can be summarised as follows:
1 As indicated above, there is clear evidence that it can be effective.
2 It is simple and straightforward, requiring the minimum of support costs.
3 It is non-evasive and thus relatively risk-free. Furthermore, it can be used in support of
both medical and surgical procedures with considerable effect.
4 There are no apparent side effects nor contra-indications.
5 Healing has considerable economic value. Healers can and do treat their patients at home, in surgeries and in hospital; treatment may also take place at a distance. There are 49 National Federation of Spiritual Healers Centres around the country where regular sessions are held41. The simplicity of the technique and the facilities required means that costs are relatively small. If healing were developed and integrated into medical practice, considerable economic benefits would accrue from: (i) the relative cheapness of healing as a replacement therapy where suitable; (ii) the potential reduction in time needed in hospital when healing supplements conventional treatments; and (iii) the likely reduction is the overall drug bill resulting from the use of healing. There is evidence to support this last point41.
STRATEGIES FOR RESEARCH
The lack of general acceptance of the reality of healing is not obviously due to a lack of evidence, although we accept that not all published work has been conducted to the highest standard42, more likely is the failure of people to examine the available evidence. It is, therefore, crucial that further good quality trials be conducted if only for the purpose of building a body of evidence which, despite the problems associated with placebo effects and difficulties with organising blind trials, may raise the awareness of the medical profession to the phenomenon. Clinical trials are being undertaken in Britain under the auspices of the Confederation of Healing Organisations (CHO) on the healing treatment of arthritis, leg ulcers, parasitic infection of horses and paraplegia in cats4, 43.
The demonstration of a transferable energy is crucial to both a proper acceptance of healing and as a step towards understanding its fundamental nature. Truly blind trials using non-sensate targets where psychological factors are removed are possible in this area. Our own work on seeds is an example of a range of options that already include the use of more mature plants, cells in culture and even enzymes in vitro. Models where the disease or stress can be carefully induced provide an opportunity to control potential confounding factors.
Laboratory studies should eventually be extended to determining characteristics of the healing energy; for example, one worker has already claimed that healing can effect the surface tension of water44. An understanding of how healing can be blocked or potentiated using laboratory tests may provide information on how healing can be made more effective.
Such studies could fruitfully be combined with a survey of successful healers in an attempt to identify those factors that make them effective.
CONCLUSIONS
Healing is at present still largely viewed with scepticism by medical science, in spite of evidence which points strongly towards the need for an objective investigation and assessment of the phenomenon. The main difficulty in bringing about what, if developed and integrated into medical practice, could be a major advance in health care and potentially a significant factor in controlling medical costs, is that the concepts and mechanisms underlying healing appear to be radically different from those underpinning modern medicine.
However, healing is clearly becoming more widely recognised as: (1) more than 8,000 healers in Britain in the main healing organisations are affiliated to the CHO; (2) the CHO have developed a Code of Conduct acceptable to the General Medical Council, together with disciplinary procedures and agreed criteria for membership and training; (3) a Register of Healers has been published and the Department of Health has recently clarified Government policy regarding the employment of healers within the NHS4, 43. It therefore seems essential that a more widely-acceptable scientific case for healing be developed: that healing as a therapy be scientifically validated by a properly constructed programme of research.
REFERENCES
1 British Medical Association. Leading for Health: a BMA Agenda for Health. London:
BMA, 1991.
2 Heginbotham C. Rationing. British Medical Journal 1992; 304:496-9.
3 British Medical Association. Report of the Board of Science and Education on Alternative Therapy. London: BMA 1996.
4 Repard JDL. Getting to Know the CHO. Berkhamsted: Confederation of Healing
Organisations, 1991.
5 Department of Health. Press Release 1191/600 of 3.12.91. London: Department of
Health, 1991.
6 Ferngren, GB. Early Christianity as a religion of healing. Bull Hist Med. 1992;
66:11-15.
7 Kelsey M. Christianity and Healing. London: SCM Press, 1973.
8 Weatherhead LD. Psychology, Religion and Healing, 2nd edition. London: Hodder
and Stoughton, 1952.
9 Gardner R. Miracles of healing in Anglo-Celtic Northumbria as recorded by the
Venerable Bede and his contemporaries: a reappraisal in the light of twentieth century
experience. British Medical Journal 1983; 287:1927-33.
10 MacEoin D. The myth of clinical trials, 2. Journal of Alternative Complementary
Medicine 1990; 8 (9): 16-18.
11 Attevelt JTM. Research into paranormal healing. Proefschrift Utrecht – Met lit opg.
Den Haag, The Netherlands: CIP-Gegevens Koninlijke Bibliotheck, 1988.
12 Rush J H. Problems and methods in psychokinesis research. In: Krippner, S, ed
Advances in Parapsychological Research: Psychokinesis, Vol 1. New York; Plenum Press, 1977; 15-18.
13 Rush JH. Problems and methods in psychokinesis research. In: Krippner, S, ed
Advances in Parapsychological Research, Vol 3. New York; Plenum Press, 1977; 83-114.
14 Schmledler GM. Research findings in psychokinesis. In: Krippner, S, ed
Advances in Parapsychological Research: Psychokinesis, Vol 1. New York; Plenum Press, 1977; 79-132.
15 Schmledler GM. PK research: findings and theories. In: Krippner, S, ed
Advances in Parapsychological Research. Vol 3. New York; Plenum Press, 1982; 115-46.
16 Schmeidler, GM. Psychokinesis: recent studies and a possible paradigm shift. In:
Krippner, S, ed, Advances in Parapsychological Research. Vol 5. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co, 1984; 9-38.
17 Solvrin J. Mental Healing. In: Krippner, S, ed, Advances in Parapsychological
Research, Vol 4. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co, 1984; 31-63.
18 Varvoglis M. Guerison psychique: recherches experimental et hypotheses
theoriques. Rev Franc Psychotronique. 1989; 2:97-111.
19 Benor DJ. Survey of spiritual healing research. Compl Med Res 1990; 4 (3): 9-33.
20 Benor DJ. Healing Research: Holistic Energy Medicine and Spirituality. Vol 1,
Research in healing. Deddington, Oxfordshire: Helix Editions Ltd, 1993.
21 Hodges RD, Scofield AM. Healing under the microscope. Journal of Alternative
Complementary Medicine. 1991; 9 (9): 11-12.
22 Scofield AM, Hodges RD. Demonstration of a healing effect in the laboratory using
a simple plant model. J Soc Psychical Res 1991; 57: 321-43.
23 Benor DJ. Research in psychic healing. In: Shapin B, Cory L, eds. Current Trends
in Psi Research. New York: Parapsychology Foundation, 1986: 96-112.
24 Krippner S, Solvin G. Psychic healing: a research survey. Psi Res 1984; 3:16-18.
25 Gerber B. Vibrational Medicine. New Choices For Healing Ourselves. Santa Fe:
Bear & Company, 1988.
26 Meek GW, ed. Healers and the Healing Process. Wheaton, Ill: The
Theosophical Publishing House, 1977.
27 National Association of Health Authorities and Trusts. Complementary Therapies in
the NHS. Birmingham: NAHAT, 1993.
28 Byrd RC. Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit
population. Southern Med J 1988; 81:826-9.
29 Miller RN. Study on the effectiveness of remote mental healing. Med Hypotheses
1982; 8:481-90.
30 Kenyon JJ. Absent healing: a study to assess clinical benefits. Holistic Hlth 1992;
Summer: 8-9.
31 Goodrich J, 1974. Quoted by Benor DJ. Psychic healing. In Salmon JW, ed.
Alternative Medicines. New York: Tavistock Publications, 1984.
32 Joyce CRB, Weldon RMC. The objective efficacy of prayer. J Chron Dis 1965;
18:367-77.
33 Braud W, Davis G, Wood R. Experiments with Matthew Manning. J Soc Psychical
Res 1979; 15 (782):199-223.
34 Kreiger D. The Therapeutic Touch. New York; Prentice Hall, 1986.
35 Macrea J. Therapeutic Touch. A Practical Guide. London; Arkana, 1990.
36 Quinn JF. Building a body of knowledge: Research on therapeutic touch 1974-1986.
J Holistic Nurs 1988; 6:37-45.
37 Wetzel WS. Reiki healing: a physiologic perspective. J Holistic Nurs 1989; 7 (1):
47-54.
38 Westlake AT. The Pattern of Health. London: Shambhala Publications, 1974.
39 White J, Krippner S. Future Science. Life Energies and the Physics of Paranormal
Phenomena. New York: Anchor Books/Doubleday, 1977.
40 Coddington M. In Search of the Healing Energy. Wellingborough: Excalibur Books,
1981.
41 National Federation of Spiritual Healers. Spiritual healing and the health of the
nation. Healing Rev 1992; (47):12-13.
42 Clark PE, Clark MJ. Therapeutic touch: is there a scientific basis for the practice? In:
Stalker D, Glynmour C, eds, Examining Holistic Medicine. Buffalo, NY: Prometheus
Books, 1985:287-96.
43 Repard JDL. Healing. Complementary and Respectable [Mimeographed] Hemel
Hempstead: Gurney Postgraduate Centre, January 1992.
44 Rindge JP. The use of non-human sensors. In: Meek GW, ed. Healers and the
Healing Process. Wheaton, Ill: Theosophical Publishing House, 1977; 130-46.
