Discuss about the Critical Review And Analysis Of MindBody Therapies.
Mind-body therapy is a healing approach that focuses on body, mind and spirit as an integrated whole. It is a holistic approach that emphases on the connection between a people’s physical, mental, and spiritual capabilities. Various studies conducted have proved that emotional dysfunction like stress and depression influence health outcomes and physiological functions (Rossi, 2017). Clinical practitioners and medical education overlooks the psychosocial factors as major contributors in acceleration of sicknesses. Mind-body therapy should be integrated in the multidisciplinary approach that is aimed at reducing mood disturbance, pain, and anxiety. Understanding and providing patients with appropriate mind-body therapies enhances doctor-patient relationship, helps patients to understand what they are going through better, and improves the body system. Although evidence of the successful administration of the mind-body therapy is not satisfactory, it should not be ruled out in aiding clinical practice (Leung, 2015). There are dominant relations that occur between the immune system and the brain, and behavior is directly influenced by psychosocial factors. Mind-body therapy may shield these immune modifications through enhanced mood, physical exercise, relaxation, and stress decline. Behavioral reactions are thus the basic elements to activating body-mind system, which in turn modify the immune system and have inferences for vulnerability to many diseases. The changes in the body weaken the body system and the intervention of a health practitioner is sought (Benn, 2015). Thus, the practitioner should provide medical and therapy solution to facilitate faster healing process. Some of the mind-body therapy modalities include; meditation, relaxation techniques and guided imagery
Meditation is the deliberate self-regulation of attention. Adapted from the Eastern traditional systems, it focuses on cumulative transparency of minds and mental consciousness (Alexander, 2008). It is an organized mental emphasis on specific features of internal and external experiences. It includes reception, yoga, stretching and group dynamics. In order to determine the effectiveness of meditation as a mind-body therapy a research was conducted on cancer patients. The method used was randomized controlled trial of both male and female patients, and it was found that the cancer patients in the randomized trial had less mood disturbance and less stress symptoms, these patients were provided with meditation group and home meditation services, compared to the cancer patients who were undergoing treatment only. Meditation falls between two major categories that is Mindfulness Based Cognitive Techniques (MBCT) and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), meta-analysis on clinical literature for therapeutics for psychological symptoms have tried to draw conclusion between the two broad categories of MBSR and MBCT techniques (“Alternative Therapy: Mind, Body, and Spirit,” 2017). These meta-analyses have generally concluded that meditation techniques provide effective results to depression patients. Patients found with depression and cannot concentrate are required to take meditative classes to help them focus their attention. Handling of clinical depression disorders happen during different phases of the disorder; acute, continuation and maintenance phases, depression times time to heal and therefore it is necessary to repeat the acute phase after all the phases are over to prevent the recurring of depression (Evans, 2010). Medication coupled with regulated meditation helps cure depression. Also, meditation provides small to moderate benefits for symptoms of anxiety, especially in patients with comorbid illnesses. There are difficulties in identifying the efficacious components of meditation therapies for several reasons. First, a rigorous comparison of the praxis elements of individual meditative therapies has not been undertaken, and thus the extent of commonality is not known. Because there is evidence to suggest that different meditative practices involve different neuronal substrates it is likely that meditation therapies that incorporate different practices affect the biological substrates of target psychological symptoms differently (Fogerite & Goldberg, 2008).
It exploits responsiveness of breathing rate, rhythm, and volume. It involves techniques whose key objective is elicitation of a psychophysiological state of relaxation or hypo arousal. Relaxation therapy decreases sensitive nervous system reaction, which in turn minimizes demand for oxygen, decreases heartbeat, and lowers blood pressure (Joyce, Etty-Leal, Zazryn, & Hamilton, 2010). Relaxation therapies combines a range of practices such as yoga, biofeedback, breathing deeply, hypnosis, and guided imagery. Relaxation can be used in some instances to relax tensed muscles. From the randomized controlled trial, most of the patients who had muscle relaxation training, had a regular sleep pattern compared to those patients in the control program. The randomized control trial for the muscle relaxation training concluded that the therapy had an impact as the cancer patients showed reduction in depression and anxiety, while the controlled program had patients with anxiety and depression symptoms (Leung, 2015). Another trial that involved cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, it was set for one group to undergo relaxation training and the other group to miss the training. From the two groups, the trained group reported decreased anger, fatigue, depression, and tension symptoms. Relaxation technique has also been known to help reduce pain, coupled with guided imagery the cancer patients are able to endure the chemotherapy with much ease compared to those who do not undergo the therapy. This is analyzed by the pain score that the patients report after their subsequent treatment (Stam, 2004).
It is a form of therapy aimed at modifying a patient’s opinions, manners or emotional responses to help in identifying and monitoring reaction to symptoms using an automated learning or counselling approach (Ventegodt & Merrick, 2013). Patients are given an opportunity to use their own imaginations to formulate mental images that help them get away from their immediate symptoms, this is done through guided imagery and relaxation. Analysis of studies relating to cancer patients with sleep disorders, fatigue, and pain expressed satisfaction in the cognitive behavior therapy. The studies demonstrated improvements in the symptoms noted. The randomized controlled trial involved cancer patients who were in pain, had sleep disorders and were fatigued (Wainrib, 2006). The trial trained half of the patients, and gave them music players to listen to when undergoing chemotherapy. It was found that the patients who were trained and listened to music endured pain better than those who were not trained. Cognitive behavior therapy helps patients forget their immediate pain and give them a chance to focus on something else rather than their surroundings and pain. Pain makes the patients experience depression and anxiety, which can deteriorate their ailing state further (Benn, 2015).
There is sufficient evidence that medicine practitioners ought to include psychosocial models in the health models that have been adapted (Kimko & Peck, 2011). There are affirmative outcomes of meta-analysis and randomized controlled trials, there is a convincing evidence to incorporate the modalities of body-mind therapies in treatment of all types of diseases including cancer, and there are further researches that should be conducted to give more satisfactory conclusions. From the negligible side effects related to the mind-body therapies that are being used to enhance the healing process, the health practitioners should highly encourage them because they are cost effective. Clinical practitioners should integrate the psychosocial mind body approaches to be considered a priority. Also, patients should be provided with insurances that cover such therapies to enable them utilize the services easily. The patients should be allowed the freedom to choose whether to engage in mind body techniques as an additional therapy, since free will of the patients would mean willingness to heal therefore physiologic benefits will be realized easily.
Conclusion
Support groups should be formed by the clinicians and also the patients, this will help to provide information for members, provide skills for coping with their issues, help moderate anxiety and offer the people a place where they would share their emotions and concerns. The settings could be hospital based or community. Support groups help reduce depression, anxiety, illness adaptation, and marital relationships. Practitioners should provide evidence-based, holistic care including mind-body therapy to patients. Practitioners should establish open communication with the patients to help them choose the most comfort therapy to use. The few studies for mind-body therapies are not adequate therefore more needs to be done to create awareness of the importance of the mind-body interventions.
References
Alexander, J. (2008). The holistic therapy file: A complete guide to over 80 effective treatments to heal the mind, body & spirit. London: Carlton.
Alternative Therapy: Mind, Body, and Spirit. (n.d.). The SAGE Encyclopedia of Cancer and Society. doi:10.4135/9781483345758.n25
Benn, R. (2015). Mind–Body Therapies. Integrative Women’s Health, 78-108. doi:10.1093/med/9780190214791.003.0005
Evans, S. (2010). Review: mindfulness-based therapies effective for anxiety and depression. Evidence-Based Mental Health, 13(4), 116-116. doi:10.1136/ebmh1094
Fogerite, S. G., & Goldberg, G. L. (2008). Overview of Mind-Body Therapies. Complementary Therapies for Physical Therapy, 84-120. doi:10.1016/b978-072160111-3.50013-0
Joyce, A., Etty-Leal, J., Zazryn, T., & Hamilton, A. (2010). Exploring a Mindfulness Meditation Program on the Mental Health of Upper Primary Children: A Pilot Study. Advances in School Mental Health Promotion, 3(2), 17-25. doi:10.1080/1754730x.2010.9715677
Kimko, H. C., & Peck, C. C. (2011). Clinical trial simulations: Applications and trends. New York: Springer.
Leung, P. (2015). Yoga & Qigong — A Self-reliant Practice for Health of Body & Mind. Complementary Therapies for the Body, Mind and Soul. doi:10.5772/60568
Rossi, E. (n.d.). Mind-Body Therapy. PsycEXTRA Dataset. doi:10.1037/e541502010-001
Stam, H. J. (2004). A Sound Mind in a Sound Body: A Critical Historical Analysis of Health Psychology. Critical Health Psychology, 15-30. doi:10.1007/978-0-230-21630-3_2
Ventegodt, S., & Merrick, J. (2013). Textbook on evidence-based holistic mind-body medicine: Healing the mind in traditional hippocratic medicine. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publisher’s, Inc.
Wainrib, B. R. (2006). Healing crisis and trauma with mind, body, and spirit. New York: Springer Pub.
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