Kindness in healing practice
Dr Airdre Grant
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key principle of holistic healing practice is Docere , which means doctor as teacher . All healers act as teachers in one way or another . A client brings their broken , shaky self to practice where they tell their story and offer up their hopes and fears . The practitioner holds the space and listens , all the time gleaning information and racing through the data in their brain , which will give them knowledge and insight about the presenting situation . It ’ s a dynamic relationship which combines professional integrity with compassion and expertise .
It ’ s a space of connection and vulnerability . Everybody who is unwell learns about themselves , and about the world around them and their relationships . For a practitioner , this has the potential to be a powerful teaching moment , especially if the body disturbance is major , protracted , and slow or stubborn to heal . As Susan Sontag noted in her influential book , Illness as Metaphor , “ Illness is the nightside of life , a more onerous citizenship . Everyone who is born holds dual citizenship , in the kingdom of the well and in the kingdom of the sick . Although we all prefer to use the good passport , sooner or later each of us is obliged , at least for a spell , to identify ourselves as citizens of that other place ” ( p3 ).
A practitioner is there because the client seeks guidance . The state of being unwell can bring out all manner of emotions and behaviours , as the client navigates an uncertain terrain . The notion of healer as teacher holds in this flowing , educative client / practitioner relationship . But where does kindness fit in , in a practical , busy practice ? What if emotions become unmanageable ?
Simply put , kindness matters . Kindness is central to inspirational and transformative relationships , professional and personal . Kindness lies at the heart of all good practice . It can and will get tested and yet , without it , the work runs the risk of becoming mechanical and dehumanised .
All practitioners , and teachers , would readily agree that maintaining your good heartedness and willingness to engage with people is central to holistic practice . They could say that it ’ s easy to be kind when you are feeling loved and supported and you don ’ t have other worries pressing in . But how do you retain you sense of kindness and compassion when you are exhausted / fed up / worried / you have a client who tests your boundaries , or that you simply don ’ t like ?
It can be tricky , because of the deeply nuanced relationship which exists between a person and their practitioner / teacher . Professional integrity means that this key relationship has dynamic boundaries and is intensely personal within a formal framework . A person tells you their business about themselves and their body , and you , as practitioner , must walk back to look at it , with a cool professional eye and then as a connected human being . This is central to the art of healing .
Many practitioners and teachers have given thought to how necessary kindness is and what it means to be kind in practical and effective ways . They have written and talked about how to sustain their commitment to their clients and to their discipline , knowing the many pressures and practicalities which affect their practice . Naturally , they know about the value of exercise , worthwhile supplementation strategies , useful
94 | vol30 | no2 | JATMS