Anthroposophic Medicine
Anthroposophic Medicine is an integrative, multimodal system of medicine, originating within the context of western medicine but extending the concept of health and disease based on a holistic understanding of nature and human beings.
The study of Anthroposophic Medicine involves learning to combine empirical observations and intuitive abilities to be able to use careful observations of a patient’s history, symptomatically or physical features and signs to build a holistic concept of the root causes of a problem and use this concept to inform the treatment approach.
Some of the holistic concepts used within the Anthroposophic Medicine system include:
- A differentiation of the physical substance and structure of the body from the living processes which enable the body to function well
- Novel ways to understand and the otherwise impenetrably complex interactions between our mental and emotional habits and reactions and physical symptoms which appear mysteriously associated
- A distinction between the thoughts, emotions and behaviors which are most often directed by our accumulated habits and learned patterns, and the conscious individual who has the ability to make choices in each moment
This leads to many important novel diagnostic and therapeutic avenues, such as
- Ways to understand and treat functional conditions, where the substance and structure of the body appears to be normal (normal results on scans and blood tests) but there are persistent symptoms indicating that the body is not functioning as it should
- Helping patients to understand fundamental questions they might have about their illness, such as “why me?”, “why now?”, and “why am I not recovering?”. This understanding can go on to inform and empower holistic avenues for personal growth healing
- Effective methods to support patients to rediscover self-empowerment, move away from habitual patterns which reinforce their difficulties and find new capacities for expressing their individuality to build a renewed sense of self and health
A multi-paradigm approach
I practice Anthroposophic Medicine with a multi-paradigm approach: in other words I try to ensure that I have an understanding of the conventional science on the causation and maintenance of the patient’s condition but in parallel to this I also build a more holistic picture of what factors are at play. This allows me to gain a full picture of the challenges need to be overcome, and which systems I need to try to influence with medicines, therapies and lifestyle approaches in order to create the necessary shifts.
A multi-paradigm approach enables me to explain my understanding of their challenges and the proposed strategies for recovery to patients using vocabulary and concepts which are accessible to them and enable them to take part in deciding how to proceed.
The unique journey of healing with Anthroposophic Medicine
The journey of healing from an illness or health challenge is thus a truly unique journey. For each patient, an individualised conceptual model is built to understand what factors came together in what way to move their systems from balanced health to illness, and what might be maintaining their illness or blocking their recovery.
Each consultation represents a new opportunity to review and understand what has gone before, form a shared understanding based on what is known at the present time, and make choices about the direction of travel going forward.
My journey with Anthroposophic Medicine
My mother trained in Anthroposophic Nursing when I was a child, so I grew up with an awareness of this system of medicine. In fact, I had very little exposure to anything else until I left school. However it wasn’t until I completed my GP training and found myself looking for more answers that I turned to Anthroposophic Medicine to try and understand human beings and healing on a deeper level. Read More about me for a more personal version of this story.