How Healing Works by Wayne Jonas, MD

Although the word “holistic” is not used by the author, that is his approach. Jonas begins in Section 1, Rethinking Healing, by describing how he learned that a solely Western approach to medicine garners poor results, often little better than a placebo might. Using a number of case studies, the author describes in Section 2 The Dimensions of Healing, which include the presence and comfort of family and home, acting right (choosing beneficial behavior), loving deeply and finding (or attaching) meaning (to the health situation). In Section 3, Your Healing Journey, are helpful approaches addressing body, behavior, social and spiritual aspects of healing by focusing on inner, interpersonal, behavioral and external factors including physical environment, the behavioral dimension, social/emotional needs and mind/spirit connection. I found Sections 1 and 2 to be overly long, with many points belabored by case studies described in great detail. For example, the first 15-page chapter includes four case studies occupying 12.5 pages, which I found far exceeded my interest. Repeatedly the author states how the placebo effect can account for close to 80% of medical successes until I wanted to scream, “I GET IT!” It is unfortunate that so much of the book was devoted to case studies, which could have been summarized in a paragraph or two; the text really bogged down in those first two sections. Section 3, though, was worth the price of admission, being both helpful and interesting. Approaching a patient as a whole person makes sense, and having a medical doctor take this approach was refreshing. I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.