Faith-based social services: saving the body or the soul? A research note.

Faith-based organizations might be ideal social service providers, claiming to transform clients' lives with holistic support while meeting immediate needs. While organizations have such goals, their success is impacted by constituencies with differing goals for the organization. Clients with goals not commensurate with an organization's may compromise its ability to attain its goals. Three questions are examined here: What are the goals of faith-based service providers? When asked what they think about the services, do clients share the organizational goals? Are organizations likely to meet either set of goals? Homeless persons patronizing faith-based soup kitchens were interviewed; service activities of organizations were observed. Clients' goals focused on survival in their current situation. Organizations' goals ranged from meeting clients' immediate needs to transforming clients through spiritual restoration. Congregations studied met clients' immediate needs. However, clients' accommodational goals were potentially problematic for organizations with spiritual goals.

A controlled study of an HIV/AIDS/STI/TB intervention with faith healers in Vhembe District, South Africa.

The aim of the study was to develop an HIV and AIDS training manual, and to evaluate the knowledge, attitudes and management of faith healers of Apostolic churches regarding HIV and AIDS, before and after they attended an HIV and AIDS training programme. A quasi-experimental intervention design was used with faith healers affiliated with the United African Apostolic Church (UAAC) in the Thulamela and Musina municipalities of Vhembe District, Limpopo Province, South Africa. A total of 103 faith healers were included in this study, 58 were systematically assigned to an intervention and 45 to a control group. The intervention group received training for 2 days. At follow-up after 2 months, intervention effects were significant for HIV knowledge and to a lesser extent TB knowledge. No significant improvement was found in HIV/STI (sexually transmitted infection) management strategies such as HIV/STI risk behaviour counselling, referral of clients for HIV testing, keeping condoms at stock in church, and church community HIV/AIDS/STI education. It is important to note that faith healers address some of the major known behavioural risk and protective factors such as partner reduction and condom use. Therefore, faith healers could be more widely utilized in HIV prevention programmes as risk reduction counsellors, in particular on matters of community-level education.

Moral transgression and illness in the Early Modern North.

This article seeks to understand how people in the early modern age interpreted the nature of illness and the role that morality played in these interpretations. From this point of view illnesses were not only psycho-physical states or subjects for medical diagnosis but they were also subjects for narratives or stories through which people tried to understand what had caused their illness, and why it was happening to them. Illnesses were understood as strictly connected with the patient's character and were regarded as possible consequences of his personality. On the other hand, the interpretations also emphasised the ambivalence of a healer. Personal experiences and an understanding of one's life situation intertwined in these stories.

"Pur sarripu pursa trutin": monster-fighting and medicine in early medieval Scandinavia.

This paper seeks evidence among our extensive Scandinavian mythological texts for an area which they seldom discuss explicitly: the conceptualisation and handling of illness and healing. Its core evidence is two runic texts (the Canterbury Rune-Charm and the Sigtuna Amulet) which conceptualise illness as a "purs" ("ogre, monster"). The article discusses the semantics of "purs," arguing that illness and supernatural beings could be conceptualised as identical in medieval Scandinavia. This provides a basis for arguing that myths in which gods and heroes fight monsters provided a paradigm for the struggle with illness.

Authentic community as an educational strategy for advancing professionalism: a national evaluation of the Healer's Art course.

BACKGROUND: Efforts to promote medical professionalism often focus on cognitive and technical competencies, rather than professional identity, commitment, and values. The Healer's Art elective is designed to create a genuine community of inquiry into these foundational elements of professionalism. OBJECTIVE: Evaluations were obtained to characterize course impact and to understand students' conceptions of professionalism. DESIGN: Qualitative analysis of narrative course evaluation responses. PARTICIPANTS: Healer's Art students from U.S. and Canadian medical schools. APPROACH: Analysis of common themes identified in response to questions about course learning, insights, and utility. RESULTS: In 2003-2004, 25 schools offered the course. Evaluations were obtained from 467 of 582 students (80.2%) from 22 schools participating in the study. From a question about what students learned about the practice of medicine from the Healer's Art, the most common themes were "definition of professionalism in medicine" and "legitimizing humanism in medicine." The most common themes produced by a question about the most valuable insights gained in the course were "relationship between physicians and patients" and "creating authentic community." The most common themes in response to a question about course utility were "creating authentic community" and "filling a curricular gap." CONCLUSIONS: In legitimizing humanistic elements of professionalism and creating a safe community, the Healer's Art enabled students to uncover the underlying values and meaning of their work--an opportunity not typically present in required curricula. Attempts to teach professionalism should address issues of emotional safety and authentic community as prerequisites to learning and professional affiliation.

[So the confessionals speak!: Disease, gender and social class in the nineteenth century Seville]. / !So los confesonarios hablaran!: enfermedad, género y clase social en la Sevilla decimonónica.

María Juana Cañaveral Villena had suffered a disease which prevented her from using her legs for more than four years. In the evening 25th October 1872 she was anointed some fat and she was given to drink three sips of water, both of them previously passed by so-called perolito de san José. This provoked a total recovery. This fact is the beginning of a research work over different aspects of the Sevillian life of those days. This study gathers together among other things the response from the ecclesiastical authorities, the sociological characteristics of the two families involved in the event, the josephine movement as a form of popular religious manifestion, the controversy over the matter held by the theologian Mateos-Gago and the group of Seville rationalist physicians, the impact in the medical and no-medical literature, as well as, the attempts to explain the disease and the cure of doña María Juana.

Teresa Urrea: Mexican mystic, healer, and apocalyptic revolutionary.

This article is a study of the mystical and apocalyptic dimensions of Teresa Urrea. As explained in this article, Urrea's mystical experiences and visions are unique for their connection with a propheticapocalyptic and political worldview. This apocalyptic dimension is more than a communication of a hidden message or spiritual world; it also includes a reading of history that is catastrophic and discontinuous. The crisis and terror of history are given expression in Urrea's mystical and apocalyptic pronouncements. In particular, the chaotic and oppressive circumstances of Mexican society during the dictatorship of Porfirio Diaz was confronted and denounced in Urrea's mystical and apocalyptic ministry. This apocalyptic healer castigated those culpable or even complicit with the injustices affecting the indigenous communities of Mexico during the late nineteenth century. In the case of Urrea, the transformation and healing of Church and society was an important aspect of her spiritual, healing powers. Because Urrea possessed neither arms nor the weapon of the pen, her sole weapon became her mystical experiences and the insight and healing powers that flowed from them. People of Mexico­especially indigenous groups­began to flock to her hoping that she would bring God's presence to the troubled and chaotic circumstances of their lives. Her compassion and tenderness for the afflicted as well as the apocalyptic expectations that she stirred up among the indigenous groups of Northern Mexico were enough to get this mystical-political Mexican mestiza exiled from her homeland.

Training community practitioners in a research intervention: practice examples at the intersection of cancer, Western science, and native Hawaiian healing.

This practice paper describes the preintervention training component of a feasibility study exploring the use of ho'oponopono, an indigenous Hawaiian healing practice, for enhancing psychosocial adaptation to breast cancer among Native Hawaiian women. Practitioners' adherence to research protocols and competence in intervention delivery are both regarded as essential to obtaining valid results in tests of intervention feasibility and efficacy; thus, training in this study dually focused on fortification of adherence and enhancing competence among those recruited to deliver the ho'oponopono intervention. A manual-based training, using adult pedagogical strategies infused with Native Hawaiian cultural practices, was delivered to community practitioners. Effects of the training on practitioners' knowledge and skills were evaluated through multiple methods. Knowledge significantly increased between pre- and post-intervention assessment. However, knowledge application for some practitioners was hindered by skill deficits, stylistic differences, and cultural conflict. Ongoing attention to competence and adherence is indicated. In-service training may bolster competence; however, practitioners may have difficulty in adhering to protocols for different reasons, and individualized clinical supervision and cultural consultation may be helpful in some situations.

Circle of healing: traditional storytelling, part one.

The session began with three presenters - LouAnn Benson, Walter Porter, and Lisa Dolchok - all of whom are or have been affiliated with the Circle of Healing Program at Southcentral Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska. The Southcentral Foundation is a Native Health Corporation that administers what used to be the Indian Health Service Hospital and Medical Center. In the Circle of Healing Program, the Southcentral Foundation has designed and implemented an approach to health care that allows its patients simultaneously to access Western medicine, traditional Native healing, and other alternative approaches to health care, such as acupuncture. An important figure in this effort is Dr. Robert Morgan, a psychologist who has worked with the program for several years, and who helped suggest presenters for this part of the program. Originally, Bob planned to be present in Quebec City, but family priorities meant a change in plans. Bob's absence had a silver lining, however, because in his stead he sent LouAnn Benson, one of his able colleagues, who talked about the program from the perspective of an insider.

Circle of healing: traditional storytelling, part two.

For decades, Bible stories have been a source of both conflict and healing. In earlier days, Christian missionaries often went to considerable lengths to question the accuracy of traditional northern Native stories, especially those with supernatural dimensions, and to discredit traditional Native spiritual leaders, such as medicine men and women, angakoks, and shamans. The missionaries' efforts often undercut Native culture and sometimes contributed to the intergenerational trauma that creates widespread hurt and pain in northern Native communities today. At the same time, a significant number of northern Native people derive considerable solace and support from their Christian beliefs and church affiliations, and many Christian religious organizations active in the North today no longer oppose traditional Native stories, practices, and values. Many northern Native people recognize that there is great value in both Native stories and the stories found in the Bible, but some still feel a tension in trying to reconcile acceptance of both. In his presentation, Walter Porter provided an interesting perspective on this issue, and his approach has considerable potential for healing.

Circle of healing: traditional storytelling, part three.

Southcentral Foundation had to overcome several organizational and procedural hurdles when developing their Circle of Healing program. Among these hurdles was finding a way to credential Alaska Native healers so the Foundation could be reimbursed for their services and pay the healers, and so the healers could work in the hospital along with the staff delivering Western and alternative medical treatment. Southcentral Foundation chose to develop a process for certifying Alaska Native healers as tribal doctors. Rita Blumenstein is the first such person to be certified. Lisa Dolchok is the second. An important strength of Lisa's presentation is that she helps us broaden our understanding of healing from an Alaska Native perspective. So often we equate healing with curing, and while it can have this dimension, Lisa reminds us there is much more to it. She echoes LouAnn Benson's presentation in asserting that healing can address illness of the spirit or wounds to the soul.

Life, death, and humor: approaches to storytelling in Native America.

Edith Turner has been studying healing as a sensitive, spiritually attuned participant-observer for a long time. Despite her academic background, experiential learning and knowing are important parts of Turner's approach to research. Her efforts to understand healing have taken her on journeys to Africa, Mexico, Ireland, and more recently, Alaska's North Slope. In these contexts, she has experienced healing offered by others, and learned to heal in various traditional ways herself. In her book, The Hands Feel It (1996), Turner focuses on the role that touch and spirit presence have in healing in a North Slope Iñupiat community. However, her book makes clear that narrative and storytelling are important parts of the healing process, as well. In this paper, Turner elaborates on some aspects of the connection between narrative and healing based on her North Slope experience.

Healing the body and the soul through visualization: a technique used by the Community Healing Team of Cape Dorset, Nunavut.

As Alice Kimiksana indicated, the Healing Circle or Healing Teams evolved to help First Nations people who attended residential schools deal with the aftermath of the abuse many of them suffered there. They use a variety of interventions, some traditional and some more Western in origin, for an innovative approach to a very serious problem. One technique developed by Western psychology, but very useful and adaptable in other cultural settings, is guided imagery or visualization. Often used for performance enhancement in sports, it is also applicable to other situations from medical settings to mental health treatment. In this presentation, Novaliinga Kingwatsiaq of Kingnait (Cape Dorset) led the audience through a modified version of a visualization used by her Community Healing Team. (During visualization one assumes a relaxed state with one's eyes closed and imagines oneself in the context of a story told by the person guiding the imagery.) The imagery she chose is both symbolically and culturally appropriate. Most audience members were unfamiliar with the process of visualization, and several indicated that they were intrigued by the experience. Kumaarjuk Pii introduced Novaliinga Kingwatsiaq and translated for her.

Healing the body, healing the self: the interrelationship of sickness, health, and faith in the lives of St. Lawrence Island Yupik residents.

For about 15 years, Carol Jolles has been traveling to St. Lawrence Island, Alaska to study the role faith plays in the lives of Sivuqaq (Gambell) residents. From the outset, she was aware of the strong presence of two Christian faith traditions in the community. She was present when people "spoke in tongues" (entered a spiritual state, sometimes identified as an altered state of consciousness), and she was aware that people relied on prayer, often uttered in a spiritually inspired context, to ease the pain of daily life and to find the strength to do difficult tasks. Many months passed, however, before she realized that many people relied on faith to heal. From the perspective of her long-term working relationships and friendships with community members, Jolles takes a fresh look at some of the situations from her early work where faith and healing were intertwined. She also looks at more recent examples to place faith-based healing in a more general context. In the process, she focuses on a few special individuals to highlight the components of faith and healing associated with illness and mental distress.

Music as knowledge in Shamanism and other healing traditions of Siberia.

Several presenters made the point that one cannot look at narrative alone, without taking into account the music, dance, and drumming that, in many settings, go along with it. One of these presenters was Marilyn Walker, who has had the good fortune to work with healers in Siberia. Although academic in approach, Marilyn's paper also recognizes the importance of experiential ways of knowing. In her Quebec City presentation, she shared some of this experiential dimension by showing and commenting on videotaped segments featuring three Siberian healers. Walker's paper discusses healing at several levels. In addition to several healing dimensions that she lists at the end of her paper, she mentions the physiological effects of music, dance, and drumming. Current research is leading to a better understanding of how trauma affects the brain and the body, and ways that various therapies, including new therapies focusing on sensorimotor effects, can promote healing. Along with these developments has come a greater appreciation and understanding among some mental health practitioners of some of the neuropsychological processes by which traditional practices such as narrative, singing, drumming, and dancing, may bring about healing.

Diving down: ritual healing in the tale of The Blind Man and the Loon.

Some stories enjoy a very widespread distribution in the North. Anthropologists and folklorists have long collected and analyzed these stories, and scrutinized their regional variants. Craig Mishler taps into this longstanding scholarly tradition as he looks at the widespread story of "The Blind Man and the Loon." However, he goes beyond analyzing the form of this tale to explore what gives it healing properties. He wants to know why this story has become part of virtually every Native storyteller's repertoire throughout the Arctic and Subarctic. One answer is that the main character and events of the story evoke the undeserved suffering that shapes the human condition everywhere. Much of the story's power stems from its depiction of a ritual for healing the handicapped, thereby becoming a medicinal oral text. Additional power comes from the wide range of local and regional forms that adapt it to local sensibilities.

The transformative power of story for healing.

One of our goals in this session was, not just to talk about the healing power of narrative, but to experience it as well. Louise Profeit-LeBlanc is one of the presenters we invited specifically because of her skills as a storyteller. She has been heavily involved for several years as both an organizer and a participant in the Yukon Storytelling Festival, held every year in late May in Whitehorse. Woven into her presentation is a useful framework for differentiating various kinds of stories. As she tells us a series of stories, she takes us through a wide range of emotions from grief and loss to laughter and awe. For each of her stories, she gives us some personal contextual information that adds to the story's meaning and helps us appreciate its significance. Her final story, in particular, is the kind of traditional story that has probably existed for a very long time. Such stories may be told with slightly different emphases, depending on the occasion, but they carry wisdom and value for every generation that hears them.