Clients of UK healers: A mixed methods survey of their demography, health problems, and experiences of healing
Introduction
There have been many studies on the utilisation of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), both in specific conditions [1] as well as in the general population [[2], [3], [4]]. All studies show high levels of use, particularly by people with chronic pain and mental health disorders. In addition, much is known about the many different reasons for people using CAM, with or without conventional medicine: for example, Kristoffersen et al. [4] found that users of CAM were more likely to have positive attitudes and beliefs about the practitioners' competence and abilities than non-users, whilst Bishop and colleagues [5] pointed out that some used CAM as a ‘treat’ rather than a treatment. Research among cancer patients reported that the use of CAM therapies can be a proactive coping mechanism that avoids feelings of helplessness [1]. When CAM users in another study were asked to cite their reason for choosing CAM, one of the most endorsed statements was, ‘I believe that complementary medicine will enable me to take a more active part in maintaining my health’ [2].
Most of these CAM studies have specified particular types of intervention, without mention of the general concept of healing, or practices such as Reiki, energy, or spiritual healing. For example, one recent study examined the use of acupuncture, homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic and medical herbalism, describing them as the most high profile CAM practices [6]. In the UK, the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee has acknowledged that healing should be recognised as a form of complementary therapy [7], defining healing as “A system of spiritual healing, sometimes based on prayer and religious beliefs, that attempts to tackle illness through non-physical means, usually by directing thoughts towards an individual. Often involves 'the laying on of hands'.” It has been estimated by charities and those that insure healers that there may be as many as 30000 people practicing as healers in the UK (PAD, personal communication).
Healing has been defined in many different ways by medical professionals and academics [8], but is generally interpreted in the CAM context as meaning regaining wholeness and integrity of mind, body and soul [[8], [9], [10]]. Many different terms are employed to describe the healing practices in common use in the West today, including Therapeutic Touch, biofield effects, energy healing, spiritual healing and Reiki healing, but there is general agreement that there are relatively few differences between these practices [8,9]. There is a growing body of research about such healers and healing practices, including our work and that of our collaborators [[10], [11], [12], [13]]. Much of the previous work in the literature has concentrated on the efficacy or effectiveness of healing [[14], [15], [16], [17]], but, as yet, there appears to be very little work focussing on the experiences of those who visit healers - the ‘healees’. One of the main findings that came from recent research by Warber et al. [12] was that healers in the UK considered it a research priority to learn more about the experiences of their clients during and after healing interventions. Preliminary reports on the views of healers in the US suggest that the client state, comprising client needs, beliefs, ‘readiness to heal’, along with potential client veto power, is critical to the success of healing partnerships [13,18,19], and Verhoef and Mulkins [9] stressed the variety of outcomes that can occur following healing. Another qualitative study from the US noted that the effects of healing can transcend simple symptom relief, and range from subtle changes in self-awareness to transformative, life-changing experiences [20]. German researchers have explored similarities between healers and those they heal [21,22], reporting that a healing experience can be meaningful and unique, arising from a partner-like relationship between healer and client, and which can encompass a connection with a transcendent or spiritual source. We have not been able to find any such studies on UK healers.
The purpose of this study was to document the demography of UK healers and their clients, the reasons people gave for going to healers, what type of healing was offered and what outcomes their clients experienced.
Section snippets
Materials and methods
This was a mixed methods study. Healers who practice in the UK were invited by The Confederation of Healing Organisations (CHO) to take part in a Healing Practice Survey. The study was conceived by author PD in discussion with SK. They then worked with the research subcommittee of the CHO to obtain help in developing suitable questions that would allow them to answer two key questions: ‘what are the demographics of people who consult healers in the UK, and what are their experiences?‘, without
Results
None of the pilot data was used for analysis. We had no way of knowing how many forms were distributed to how many healers by which of the 175 organisations, as we could only track those returned to us. A total of 281 completed forms were collected (an example of a completed form is shown in Appendix 1). Three concerned animal healing and were excluded from further analysis; the data presented below is from the remaining 278. Although the forms were usually filled in by the healers (as
Discussion
This paper reports one of very few studies of healers’ perceptions of the experiences of people who seek them out for healing. The main findings are that those seeking help from healers in the UK are predominantly older people, with women outnumbering men, that their main reasons for seeking healing are mental health problems, chronic pain, and fatigue and that the majority had more than one problem they wanted help with. Most people reported positively on the experience, with immediate
Declarations of interest
SK is a healer and Chief Executive of the CHO that funded and helped conduct the study. No other author has a conflict of interest.
Funding
Funding for this study was provided by The Confederation of Healing Organisations (CHO).
Acknowledgments
We are grateful to The Confederation of Healing Organisations (the-cho.org.uk) for making this study possible, and to all of the healers and healees who took part in the survey. PD would like to acknowledge the support of The Institute for Integrative Health (TIIH.org).
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