New fields – psychology and homeopathy in oncology
A relatively new field is psychooncology, which is concerned with the psychical aspects of the development of and coping with cancer, but also with the effects of therapies on the life quality of patients. Psychooncologists unburden and support patients, communicate adequate coping strategies for the coping with the disease and mobilise inner resources with the aim of improving the life quality of the persons affected.
In terms of an interdisciplinary approach a diploma thesis was initiated in July 2005 at the Department of Medicine I (oncology) of the Medical University of Vienna (AKH) and the Department of Psychology of the University of Vienna, which deals with the psychical and physical effects an additive homeopathic therapy, that accompanies the conventional cancer therapy, has on the life quality of the patients (1). Here it could be shown that the additively homoeopathically treated patients in some areas felt definite improvements concerning the intensity of discomfort, life quality and psychic feeling, while the exclusively conventionally treated group did not feel any improvements in a single measured area.
Next to the important psychological accompanying of the patients, also the offerings of complementary medical therapy are very popular in oncological ambulances, although homeopathy has a special significance on the side of the patients due to its large acceptance. The aim of a homeopathic accompanying treatment of oncological patients is an abatement of the side effects of the therapy, a strengthening of the general condition and with that an improvement of life quality.
Psychology is everyday life. There are hardly any areas of daily life which are not entered by psychological knowledge and its application. Psychological work is extremely multifaceted and multilayered and cannot be dismissed anymore from the important areas of daily life.
Psychologists work interdisciplinary, especially in the clinical area a collaboration of psychologists, physicians and nursing staff is essential for the patients’ welfare. Over the last years, a number of new areas of work for clinical psychologists have been established, as e.g. psychoneuroimmunology, which examines the connections between psychical procedures, nervous and hormone system and their effects on the immune system.
A very extensive psychological area of application is the area of clinical psychology, which is concerned with the scientific research of abnormal behaviour. An important role in the area of prevention is played by health psychology, which communicates measures for the advancement and preservation of health, for the determination of risky behavioural patterns and in the area of rehabilitation. Next to these two large psychological work areas there are numerous further special areas, the areas pedagogy, environment, economy, transportation, forensics, work and sports are counted among them.
Scientific definition of psychology
Psychology is the scientific examination of the behaviour of individuals and
their mental processes. Psychologists gather and interpret data, deduce theories,
set up hypotheses and carry out examinations for the verification of these (=
basic research). Psychological interventions are aimed to understand and to
predict human behaviour, to minimise errors and to provide reliable generalisations.
The aim of applied psychological research is to find solutions for specific
practical problems and in this way to contribute directly to an improvement
of people’s life quality.
Symptoms of the psyche and the mind in homeopathy
Hahnemann counted the diseases of the mind and psyche (endogenous mental disorders and psychoses) among the so-called ‘one-sided diseases’, where individual protruding symptoms conceal the symptoms that are behind them. He defines symptoms of the mind as those that include the will and the feelings and symptoms of the psyche as symptoms of the intellect, of concentration, perception, alertness and memory. In the case of an illness symptoms of the psyche appear in the form of dissatisfaction, fear, sorrowfulness and depression. Hahnemann asks for the consideration of symptoms of the psyche and mind for the choosing of the remedy in each case of illness. Psychical symptoms as well as special features are assigned to all remedies that have been tested well; on their basis a single remedy is prescribed in the case of the same illness.
Homeopathy and illnesses of the psyche in Hahnemann’s times
Only towards the end of the 18th century psychically ill people were not classified as criminals anymore but assigned to medicine, which at first did not change the extremely atrocious ‘methods of safekeeping and treatment’. Gradually this was criticised more and more and strongly condemned by European physicians, Hahnemann being among them. In his castle for the treatment of mentally ill people, which the Duke of Sachsen-Gotha had made available to him in 1792, he rejected all kinds of compulsory measures and as one of the first physicians of Europe he practiced a humane and on scientific cognition based treatment of mentally ill people.
Diploma thesis ‘Life quality in a chronic cancerous disease with homeopathic
accompanying treatment’
(Sandra Schranz)
A collaboration of the ‘Special Ambulance for Homeopathy in Malignant Diseases’ (director: Univ.-Prof. Michael Frass), Department of Medicine I (director: o.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Christoph Zielinski), Medical University of Vienna and the Department of Psychology of the University of Vienna (Ao.Univ.-Prof. Dr. Rainer Maderthaner).