Within Crazy Like Us, Ethan Watters explains many ways in which Western biomedicine has incorrectly pushed an essentialist way of treating certain mental illnesses onto other cultures
Dwyer, September 11, 2011 Within Crazy Like Us, Ethan Watters explains many ways in which Western biomedicine has incorrectly pushed an essentialist way of treating certain mental illnesses onto other cultures. This essentially means that Western medicine presumes that all people, no matter what culture they are from, react to trauma in the same way. The situation Watters goes most in depth on is the tsunami that struck Sri Lanka. He describes a huge rush of Western psychiatrists to the area where they counseled victims in an “assembly-line” manner (81). In contrast to the psychiatrists who were very unknowledgeable about the culture they immersed themselves into, Watters describes how Western biomedicine manipulated the Japanese people by getting to know their culture all too well. These are two contrasting ways in which knowledge, or lack there of, of a culture can cause harm or be helpful. Getting to know and understand a certain culture before rushing in and helping them is going to helpful in some situations, while it may cause damage in other situations. It is our obligation as people of our own culture to understand each situation and assess whether or not it is our duty to go to these other countries and give them aid. Watters’ assertion that “the mistake in applying Western notions of trauma without consideration for local beliefs goes beyond just
ARE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES TO PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS?
ARE HOMEOPATHIC REMEDIES ACCEPTABLE ALTERNATIVES TO PHARMACUTICAL DRUGS? Today millions of people are bypassing the offices of their family physicians, internists, gynecologists, and pediatricians in favor of alternative or complementary medicine (Jonas xi). Why are millions of people choosing alternative or complementary medicine (CAM) over modern medicine? Perhaps they are tired with the ineffectiveness of pharmaceutical drugs compared to initial hype, or the appearance of adverse side effects over time. Homeopathic remedies are an acceptable alternative to pharmaceutical drugs because they are safe, effective, and treat the person at the body's own natural pace. The first and foremost aim of the homeopath, a practitioner of homeopathic medicine, is to aid the body in beginning to heal itself or to continue the process of healing itself (Ullman 18). Homeopaths think of symptoms as a sign of good health. They view the appearance of certain symptoms to be a sign that the body is responding to and fighting a disease or infection. Samuel Hahnemann, a German physician and chemist, named his approach to the healing process "Similia similibus curantur" or "Likes are cured by likes" (Foxman 44). This is also referred to as "the law of similars" and is the use of a medicinal substance that has the same "symptom picture" that is most similar to the symptom of the person who is
The failures of Freud and Psychoanalysis.
Freud Paper Joshua A Goldman 08/06/03 The Failures of Freud and Psychoanalysis In October 1900, Philip Bauer took his 18-year-old daughter to see the little known psychoanalyst Dr. Sigmund Freud. Bauer took his daughter to be treated by Freud for her recent display of strange behaviors such as saying strange things, and threatening suicide. From Freud's initial point of view the case did not seem to be particularly promising in terms of supplying new features for his theories in development. Freud diagnosed the young woman as possessing the typical signs of hysteria, a psychosis that he had previously encountered copiously. However, the resulting case proved to engage Freud more than he initially thought and slowly blossomed into Freud's most famous case history. A few days after taking the case, Freud wrote his friend Wilhelm Fleiss that a "case has smoothly opened to the existing collection of picklocks."1 Freud's newfound interest in the case unexpectedly was siphoned because the young patient abruptly terminated her psycho-analyitical treatment at the end of December of 1904, only eleven weeks after she first came to Freud. Freud wrote up his case-notes in January of 1901, but it wasn't until 1905 that his 'Fragment of an Analysis of a Case of Hysteria ', or known as Dora, was published in a specialist journal.2 This was the inauspicious start of a case history
Chinese medical theory.
BSc (Hons) Complementary Therapies Semester: 1 Module Title Chinese Medical Theory Date Due: 28.01.03 Length: 2000- 2500 words Module Leader: Li Ping SHARNA RICHARDSON. Contents Introduction This assignment, after giving a brief history background of Yin-Yang theory, will explain the concept of Yin and Yang. I will then discuss the basic theory by describing four aspects of the relationship between Yin and Yang. On a deeper level I will then apply Yin and Yang theory to explain the structure of the human body, the function of the zang fu organs, and the physiology and pathology of the human body. Finally I will write a patient case study based on Yin and Yang theory and Zang- Fu organ theory. The case study will discuss the nature of the main problem; which Zang- Fu organs are significant to the case study and what kinds of Yin and Yang imbalance are involved. Brief Historical Background The early thinkers of the Han dynasty in China (207B.C. - 9 A.D.) attempted to unify all the rival schools of Chinese thought and philosophy that had developed over the previous 300 years. Rather than reject alternative ways of thinking, they attempted to fuse all the rival schools of thought into a single system. This is known as the Han synthesis, and is an attempt to explain the metaphysical workings of the entire universe. It is the origin of what is called the Yin-Yang
Medieval Medicine
Medieval Medicine Essay Medicine in the fourteenth century was primitive in comparison to modern standards of medical practice. Most medical practice and knowledge of the time was based on the works of Galen and Hippocrates, who had lived over a thousand years earlier. Their writings of observational medicine were very accurate at the time but by the medieval period, most of their observational practices had been lost and so rendered their medical writings pretty much irrelevant. However this was not realised at the time and so their writings were treated as a medical rule.1 Quite simply it was believed generally by physicians and teachers at the time that Galen's theory of the 4 humours could not be improved upon.2 At the time their was no understanding of the existence of bacteria and the need for sterilisation of medical equipment. This unfortunately lead to many people being in a worse physical state after their treatment than before due to high levels of infection. Often Barber Surgeons would come to town and perform basic surgery such as tooth pulling and amputations, using the same tools throughout the course of the day, with nothing more than a quick wipe in between procedures.3 As previously mentioned the basis of most medical knowledge at the time came from Galen's Theory of the "Four Humours". The theory was that the body comprised of 4 major elements. These were
Ancient Egyptians knowledge of the body.
Andrew Eustace 10RAP Ancient Egyptians knowledge of the body. There were several factors in the expansive knowledge of the anatomy, and medicine, gained by the Ancient Egyptians (3000 to 400BC.). The first of these factors was religion. The Egyptians were very religious and had many Gods and Goddesses. These controlled all areas of life including disease and medicine. A major part of the Egyptian belief was that evil spirits entering the body caused illness. To cure this the evil spirit had to be driven away. The ancient Egyptians had quite a large knowledge of the body for the period - this knowledge was gained through their religious beliefs and ceremonies. The Egyptians new about the pulse, liver, brain and other organs but they wouldn't of known there proper uses. The Egyptians prepared bodies for the return of the soul in the after-life. During embalming, they took out the major organs and preserved them. We also no that the heart of an Egyptian was known to be considered important and was therefore left in the mummified body rather than being dissected. This gave them good knowledge of the anatomy. Embalming also provided skills in surgery and pharmacy - the use of drugs to preserve the body gave many doctors a good idea of their properties. However, religion also held back further progress: dissection was forbidden (as the Egyptians believed that the body
Folklore in Medicine.
Folklore in Medicine. Folklore refers to the traditional beliefs, legends, sayings etc of a people i.e. of England. It is often said that folklore medicine is now going 'out' but in my opinion this is wrong as I work in a chemist and the amount of so called "folk," "natural," "alternative," "traditional," "home" "organic" "holistic" and "other" medicines and therapies sold is astounding. Admittedly the whole 'magical' element behind it all is gone for most people as it was believed that diseases and ailments were caused by evil spirits or angry gods but most of these opinions are still held by the supposed 'uneducated' tribes people. But yet again some people who still hold 'pagan' beliefs do believe that it is the planets that cause some diseases. Although we no longer believe in 'medicine men', 'shamans' and 'witch doctors' in the west we still have many deep seated superstitions, rituals and some medical practices that have been taken from our murky past. Such things as saying bless you when we sneeze originate from a time when it was believed that a sneeze was your soul attempting to escape your body and by saying 'bless you' you some how stopped it! Even things such as funerals are believed to be based around a ritual that prehistoric man used to carry out. And if it hadn't been for the inquisitive Greeks searching for the seat of the soul in the human body we may still
Preventative Intervention for Alcohol Abuse among College Students
Running head: PREVENTATIVE INTERVENTION Preventative Intervention for Alcohol Abuse Among College Students Lee Ranalli Arizona State University Prevention Intervention for Alcohol Abuse Among College Students Introduction The two articles reviewed both focused on preventative programs for alcohol abuse aimed at college students. The first article (Study A), is titled Prevention of Heavy Drinking and Associated Negative Consequences Among Mandated and Voluntary College Students and was written by Kim Fromme and William Corbin (2004) from the University of Texas. The intervention that was evaluated in this study was a Lifestyle Management Class which was run by either peers or professionals. Both the peers and the professionals all had to go through a minimum of 16 hours of training targeting "group process skills, counseling techniques, lifestyle and stress management skills, information about college drinking and drug use, and the philosophy of balance and moderation" (Fromme & Corbin, 2004). Other essential elements of the Lifestyle Management Class were the approaches of using a nonjudgmental and empathetic attitude along with usage of motivational interviewing (Fromme & Corbin). The second article (Study B), is titled Brief Intervention for Heavy-Drinking College Students: 4-Year Follow-Up and Natural History and was written by J. S. Baer, D. R. Kivlahan, A. W.
Qualifications to Enter Veterinary Medicine.
Qualifications to Enter Veterinary Medicine By: Candice Williams The first step to take to become a veterinarian is to choose an undergraduate college. When selecting a school, it is smart to consider factors such as location, cost, type of school, size of the school, and availability of pre-veterinary advisors. Apart from some exceptions, students usually complete a four-year bachelor's degree program before entering veterinary school. The Ontario Veterinary College is the oldest veterinary college in the Americas in terms of continuous operation. It began in Toronto in 1862, was moved to Guelph, Ontario in 1922 and became a founding college of the University of Guelph in 1964. The Ontario Veterinary College has the following advanced degree programs: Master of Science (MSc), Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), and Doctor of Veterinary Science (DVSc). For entry to the Masters of Science program a Bachelor of Science (Honors) or a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) degree is needed. To be accepted to the Doctor of Philosophy program you must complete a Master of Science program by thesis, even though top students may, if approval, go directly to the Doctor of Philosophy program before completing their Master of Science degree. A Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (or equal) degree is needed for entry to the Doctor of Veterinary Science program. Applicants must have shown achievement
schizophrenia
Massey 1 Schizophrenia (Paranoid Type) Today Schizophrenia is known as one of the most horrendous psychiatric mental disorders one could possibly be diagnosed with. Eugene Bleuler coined the term in 1908. The name Schizophrenia comes from the Greek works 'skhizein' meaning 'to split' and 'phren' meaning 'mind', in other words, "split mind" not to be confused with multiple personality disorder. It instead refers to the fact that the mind can no longer see the difference between what is real and the delusions that it creates because of the disorder. There are five differing types of schizophrenia. The kind of schizophrenia called paranoid schizophrenia is arguably the most horrific of the five. There are two kinds of schizophrenic symptoms, positive and negative symptoms. Positive symptoms are usually seen in psychotic episodes and usually entail diverse abnormal behaviors such as delusions, hallucinations, and disordered and disorganized thoughts. The negative symptoms are seen between psychotic episodes and generally involve the loss of normal behavior. Negative symptoms include social reclusiveness, catatonic behavior, reduced speech and not showing emotions. Although, the main criteria of this disease are a preoccupation with out of the ordinary delusions that the patient creates in his or her mind, accompanied by frequent auditory and sometimes visual