Psychotherapy and professional identity development: the relevance of CAM

Facilitating self-healing in anthroposophic psychotherapy

BACKGROUND

The fields of complementary and alternative medicine and psychotherapy have many similar characteristics. This study investigates the self-healing capacity of the patient as one shared characteristic and as an important mechanism of change.

CASE REPORT

This investigation adopts naturalistic qualitative case study methodology to describe the treatment of a patient in his late fifties who also had an adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed moods. The data was collected retrospectively from existing data sets and was analysed using narrative analysis and the analysis of narratives. The clinical work integrated anthroposophic psychotherapy and anthroposophic medicine in order to support the patient's self-healing capacities.

CONCLUSIONS

The study forms the beginning of a research programme and so should ideally be followed up by rigorous efficacy and effectiveness studies.