Painting by Ruth Jamison King
courtesy of
NARSAD Artworks;
Art by and on behalf of persons with mental illness.
A nurse, as described in Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, is one who takes care of or who tends. Other meanings that define the act of nursing utilize the words, "to care or provide for tenderly or sedulously (diligently); to cherish; foster." These are words that in part describe what holistic nurses do, as stated in the philosophy of the American Holistic Nurses' Association (AHNA). According to the AHNA, nursing is an art and a science whose primary purpose is to assist others toward the wholeness inherent within them. Another aspect of the philosophy is the inclusion of intuitive skills alongside an eclectic academic background and analytical skills.
Aside from the
science of tending to ordinary and usual nursing tasks, as one may
find in institutional policy and procedure, holistic nurses in the
process of fostering, nurturing and tending to clients in any
setting, reach out to embrace the less strictly defined and more
creative approaches to client care and intervention. In the
behavioral health setting, holistic nurses often pursue what is now
termed the "complementary" or "integrative" therapies.
One of such approaches is the practice of Therapeutic Touch (TT) as developed by Dolores Krieger, R.N., Ph.D. in the early 70s as described in her four published texts and numerous articles. This therapeutic modality is based upon the work of several nursing theorists as well as concepts of quantum physics. Nursing theorist, Martha Rogers, describes humans as "unitary beings" composed of unique and intricate patterns of energy. In Dr. Krieger's book, "Accepting Your Power to Heal,"1 she includes letters written to her from former students engaged in the practice of TT in clinical and mental health practice. In this work she describes several accounts of how TT was the intervention that opened several catatonic clients to responsiveness; one woman spoke for the first time in 20 years, entering anew into a world in which she had not participated. In other anecdotal reports by Hill and Oliver2, TT was very useful as adjunct treatment for obsessive compulsive disorder, chronic depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. The client suffering from a troubling obsession was able to release the habitual thought pattern through the application of TT paired with other interventions. He recounted how he remembered the nurse "caring about him," and the nurse in turn was moved by the client's ability to heal himself.
Another emerging therapeutic process termed Healing Touch, developed by Janet Mentgen, R.N., B.S.N. in the early 80s, is a collection of many "energy" healing modalities and has been found extremely useful as an adjunctive treatment in the psychotherapeutic relationship. It is described by Hover-Kramer3 as being of great support for those dealing with addictions. She relates that energies can become blocked in areas of the body, and in the energy fields that surround the body, hampering the natural flow. When this phenomena occur, caused by any number of reasons, people may respond by attempting to compensate for this disturbance at a physical, emotional or mental level by using a substance that numbs the feeling or pain. There may be a depletion or void experienced, causing the addict to seek ways to fill the void, which serve only to worsen the problem. Receiving healing touch would assist the client to regain "energetic balance," find empowerment, and move toward wholeness enlisting the use of other supports like a 12-step program. Healing Touch is one of the programs endorsed by the AHNA.
These and other interventions such as biofeedback, guided imagery, prayer, play and humor, among many, are included as independent nursing interventions as described by Snyder4 and in a number of resources supportive of the holistic nursing process. In fact, an entire chapter is devoted to the understanding and treatment of addictions in "Holistic Nursing: A handbook for practice."5 In this text, addiction is described as "a disconnection of the human spirit in which a person develops a dependence on various aspects of the external world." Dossey leads the way through the process:
Specifically designed scripts are included in the text for guided imagery sessions. A case study outlined in the text illustrates that a man suffering from alcohol addiction was, through learning relaxation techniques, able to discover himself as a source capable of producing a sense of well-being, rather than turning to harmful external sources.
The goals and standards of practice of holistic nursing, as outlined by the AHNA, support the facilitation of this reconnection and rediscovery of the wholeness of the body-mind-spirit in an ever-changing environment as unique to each individual. AHNA currently supports programs by endorsement and offers The Certificate Program in Holistic Nursing around the country. Recently the core curriculum in holistic nursing was published that lists the standards of practice, offers supporting, related content by recognized experts in the field, and serves as a basis for holistic nursing certification. We all must rediscover ourselves, heal ourselves, and then reach out a hand to others as we search to recover those disconnected parts of ourselves and become whole, complete beings.
References
Mary J.
Frost is a holistic nurse, certified healing touch practitioner
and instructor in Covington, La. She currently serves the American
Holistic Nurses' Association (AHNA) as South Central Region director
and secretary. For more information about the AHNA, call 800/278-AHNA
or visit their website at
http://www.AHNA.org/
