The Listening Cure by Chris Gilbert MD

Author:Chris Gilbert, MD
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781590794579
Publisher: SelectBooks, Inc.
Published: 2017-10-08T00:00:00+00:00

Me-diator (with gavel): “Let’s hear from each of you, organs! Stomach goes first—then Heart, Hand, Brain, Back and Lungs! Let’s start!”

Understanding people and treating their problems takes time. I need time to examine and work through the issues, and my patients need time to understand where we are going and to participate in the process. That’s why a fifteen minute office visit doesn’t make sense to me. Yet, that’s the average time doctors and patients are allowed in the typical family practice. I usually like to keep patients for one hour. The benefits of a long office visit (or a home visit as in Robin’s case) are incalculable.

After what seems at least five minutes, but in reality was probably only one minute, The Me-diator in Robin shakes her head before saying, “I understand the situation now!”

Looking at the pink pillow her Me-diator says, “Skin, you want to be touched, caressed and loved. That is why you are itching.” Then switching her attention to the yellow pillow, “Fingers, you want to touch and be touched and love and be loved by a man, preferably Kirk! You have been dying for physical affection for so many years but have only met rejection. That is why you are deformed!” Switching her attention to the white pillow, “Head, you want to hear love words and to be with a romantic man but you can’t. That is why you are hurting. Mind, you want to stay with Kirk because he is a good provider, allows you to live in a beautiful house, and be safe financially.”

After a pause, her Me-diator continues, “That is a big dilemma. It was one against one a few years ago (Skin against Mind), then two against one (Skin and Fingers against Mind), and now three against one (Skin, Fingers, and Head against Mind). That means that you, Body, really need touch and love, but leaving Kirk is too risky. We don’t even want to consider that.” She pauses again and thinks deeply.

I choose to remain silent. I can do no more. She now needs to come up with a solution on her own.

After what seems a long time, her Me-diator announces, “I think getting a massage twice a month would be acceptable.”

I am a bit surprised at this possible solution. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but at least now we have something to work with.

Now the task is to find out if the massage idea is acceptable to all parties, because it is important to respect all members of the body’s family, just as we would in any kind of family therapy.

Robin seats herself on each pillow in turn for a few seconds to answer the critical question that must be addressed to each of her body parts: “Is the solution acceptable to you?”

I begin the questioning. “Let’s ask Skin, Fingers, and Head if a massage twice a month would be a satisfactory solution.”

Robin sits on Skin’s pillow. “Yes, I guess it could be a temporary solution.”

Robin moves to Finger’s pillow.

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