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For Colleagues The field of modern technological medicine, while reaching great achievements in the treatment of acute illness, has nearly come to a dead end, when it comes to the treatment of chronic disease. Hardly any patient will be truly satisfied with a proposition to take medications for the rest of their life with a prospect of slowing the progression, but not providing a cure for their condition, and not helping them regain health. My intention is to explore and find the appropriate place for technological medicine within the greater context of healing arts; to bring back such aspects of life as meaning, purpose, eternity, and infinity as the sources of healing common to all true healing arts. I think that the natural scientific thinking overstepped its boundaries when it started considering a human being as a calculable being. I believe the time has come for the field of medicine to remember that medicine is art, and could never be exact science, no more that we could calculate love, faith, and human spirit. If you like, take a look at my articles on the role of love and on qualitative, as opposed to quantitative view of a human being. In addition, today’s western allopathic medicine is plagued by the industrial commercial interest. Agencies that provide medical education, evaluate medical studies and publish them, determine medical guidelines and enforce them, are all financially wed to medical industry. If you wish, take a look at some of the information that I’ve gathered in the Political Facts section of this web site. I would like to briefly elaborate on what exactly is the qualitative view of the patient and precisely how meaning, purpose, eternity, and infinity can accommodate modern medical practice. In practical terms this approach starts at the level of belief. If we consider a human being is an infinite being with a purposeful and meaningful life, and with a possibility of directly experiencing the eternal, we have a radically different image of a person. Many, throughout history, have testified to such experiences, and our everyday experience of being in the world provides evidence for this view. Doubts about this view of a human being can be easily outweighed by the doubts about its opposing deterministic-materialistic view. Both views lack sufficient empirical evidence to constitute a proof, but the unlimited view of a human being is grounded in the direct personal experience of countless persons of different places and times. While trying to relieve patients’ suffering we must not forget that this suffering is meaningful. This may sound like a great leap of faith to some, but the leap that brings us to the belief that a human being is a finite and calculable organism is no less great. The alternative, which is the implied predominant philosophy underlying today’s medicine, is that existence is random and meaningless. When the patient asks us about the reason for his/her illness, in most cases we are taught to answer that it is essentially the person’s bad luck. The interaction of that person’s set of genes and the environment happened to cause her illness. Consider, instead, that our existence is meaningful and that nothing happens by chance. You may then start discovering layers of meaning and understanding heretofore not seen. Phenomenological approach is one of the keys to understanding what happens in our lives. See more information in the Mind-Body section of this web site for more material on this topic. |
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Angels by Marissa Garcia from http://www.kentuckyartists.com/marissa/angels.html |
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For Patients The word health comes from a root that gives rise to words whole, holy and wholesome. Health is a result of embracing all possibilities of life, with ensuing mental, emotional, and physical balance. The energy wasted or locked away by resisting the course of life depletes us, bringing distressing physical, mental or emotional symptom, or an addictive craving. Existential psychiatrist, and phenomenologist, Medard Boss, defined growing up as “accepting and fulfilling possibilities of life freely and responsibly.” In this process of growing up, we come to oneness with our potentials, and gain a possibility of wholeness. Environment and hereditary factors can play an important role and cannot be ignored. Nevertheless, people with poor heredity and toxic environments have been known to live fulfilling lives, lives in which illness and death were secondary to the meaning and purpose of their lives. Discovering and overcoming barriers to self-fulfillment is one of the most important keys to health, physical or mental. What I Do I am an instructor at OHSU department of family medicine. I provide a full spectrum of general medical care at the OHSU Richmond Clinic. I care for adults and children. I make my best efforts at helping my patients make informed medical decisions. My strongest and most profound interest is in mind-body medicine, specifically, phenomenology and mental imagery. I am certified by The American Institute of Mental Imagery and run Mind-Body Medicine Clinic at OHSU Richmond Clinic. Call and request an appointment specifically for the Mind-Body Medicine Clinic with Dr. Reznik at 503-418-3900. Most insurance accepted, for the uninsured this service may be available for the minimal clinic fee (based on a sliding scale, starting at $25). In addition, I treat addiction and run 12-step-based outpatient program for drug addictions, also at Richmond clinic. This program provides group support and medically supervised drug taper, inclusive of individuals with dual diagnoses. Philosophy and Practice Style I encourage my patients to take responsibility for their health and illness, to make as independent decisions as possible, and to be their own authority. I self-transformative action is the best form of medicine. While modern medical technology and medications provide for important successes in the treatment of many acute conditions, chronic illness does not yield itself to cure even with the most sophisticated and up to date treatments. For a person who is passively depending on an external curative measure, an apparent cure of one illness is usually substituted by another leading to an endless cycle of disease, dependency and suffering. My practice at a teaching institution accommodates for the presence of doctors who are in training. Medical student or a resident may be present during the visit. In spite of the use of universalized electronic medical record that transmits encoded information via internet, there are ways of achieving confidentiality, when strict confidentiality is desired. Instead of searching for an external magic bullet (a treatment, a medication, consultation with a specialist—all of which I do offer as well), I help my patients recognize the limitations of high-tech medicine and redirect their effort back toward themselves, in their search for health. |
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PUBLICATIONS
This is a book for cancer sufferers, their families, and anyone interested in in the topic. It was edited by a psychologist and friend Dr. Bob Rich. I am privileged to be one of eleven contributors to this work, the others include psychologists, nurses, cancer sufferers and their family members. It is a resource for healing, encouragement, and information. You can purchase an electronic copy of this book by clicking on the book cover (all profit from the electronic sales goes to Dr. Bob Rich). Paper copies are available through Amazon. The Light of Creative Imagination, an article about my teacher of Mind-Body medicine Colette Abouker-Muscat. Published in the March 2005 issue of Alternative Journal of Nursing. See the original version on this web site.
Facial Morphology—Who You Are Is Written On Your Face This is an article about facial morphology. It was published in the March 2006 issue of the Alternative Journal of Nursing http://www.altjn.com/ideas/default.asp. To read the original article on this web site click here. UNPUBLISHED ARTICLES What Should We Expect From the Latest Medical Advances? A Look at Cancer Treatments. Click here to read the article.
Should We Seek the Answers from Whole-Body Scans? Click here to read the article.
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Mount Hood, Oregon, from www.pierluigisurace.it/imagerie/aatw0062.htm |
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PUBLICATIONS
Available as of January 2006, click on the cover to see the description and comments. Purchasable from Barnes&Noble, Borders, Waldenbooks, Amazon, other stores and online booksellers. Click HERE for more information. |
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Environment, the place where we live and work (as well as the food we eat, other substances we consume, and exposure to various types of radiation), is important for health. In anticipation of my move to Portland I looked up the environmental data available from the EPA at http://www.epa.gov/tri/. Above (the top picture) is a picture of Portland. The green, blue, black and red squares represent the areas of toxic releases, hazardous waste, air emissions, and water dischargers. As you can see, living near the river close to downtown area exposes one to more pollution. Industrial areas in the Northern and North-Eastern Portland are likely to be toxin-rich as well. For comparison, (the lower of the two pictures above) is a picture of New York City. We’re still a lot better off in Portland. |
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The most recent interview with wsRadio is available at: http://www.wsradio.com/internet-talk-radio.cfm/shows/Coping-with-Caregiving/archives/date/selected/09-22-2007.html |