Therapeutic Reflexology is a holistic healthcare modality, but many claims to offer a holistic approach, but what does it really mean? In this blog post we shall have a look at what it means that therapeutic reflexology is holistic in nature.
Holism means that the whole is considered and not only a certain aspect. In healthcare related terms, holism means that the whole person is taken into consideration and not only the specific signs and symptoms.
In therapeutic reflexology terms, holism means that the whole person is positively affected by a treatment and not only a specific sign, symptom or condition. It is often said that reflexology cannot heal any illness, but the treatment assists the body to heal itself. What does this mean?
Basically, it means that there is no magic button on your feet that can cure any condition by pressing it. Therapeutic reflexology is not a mystical method where you press on a specific point on a person’s feet and then it cures illness or signs or symptoms or conditions. Not at all! Therapeutic reflexology is a recognised healthcare modality which means that it is based on scientific principles of anatomy, physiology, pathology and pathophysiology; there is nothing mystical about the treatment.
It is also not possible to divide the body into parts and then treat only a specific part. In other words, if you have been experiencing infertility, there is no specific point on the feet to press to make you fall pregnant, but therapeutic reflexology is known for alleviating infertility. That sounds like a contradiction, but let me try to explain it.
Therapeutic reflexology follows a holistic approach, in other words, infertility is seen as a sign or a symptom of not being able to get pregnant. Infertility is a condition that can be present in both males and females. From a holistic approach, the mere fact of infertility being present, is not necessarily how the condition is treated in therapeutic reflexology. There is not point on the feet to press to alleviate infertility. The approach is also not necessarily to just stimulate the specific reflexes related to specific organs like the ovary reflexes in females or the testes reflexes in males. A true holistic approach means that a conscious attempt is made to determine the underlying cause of the problem; in other words, what is the cause of the infertility in the specific patient?
Therapeutic reflexologists are non-diagnostic therapists according to the scope of practice for the profession as provided by the Allied Health Professions Council of South Africa (AHPCSA); that means that therapeutic reflexologists are not allowed to diagnose any condition. To deal with the underlying cause means that a person experiencing a condition like infertility should first be diagnosed by a diagnostic practitioner like a medical doctor, homeopath, naturopath etcetera, but once the cause has been determined, the therapeutic reflexologist is able to effectively treat the underlying condition by stimulating the entire foot in a holistic manner.
A good holistic approach in therapeutic reflexology is when the therapist stimulates the entire feet and then to focus in on specific stimulation of specific areas or organs or a combination of this; this is a truly holistic approach, because it is ultimately not the therapeutic reflexologist that heals anything, it is the body healing itself or at least balancing itself.
The human body has been created in such a wonderful manner that it has the ability to heal itself or balance itself when anything is out of balance. If you cut your finger and you are losing blood, the body will start balancing out the imbalance of blood loss by making the blood clot and then it continues to heal the injury by ensuring the cut is closed. This is a normal bodily function.
In certain instances, the body is unable to create such balance or homeostasis due to a certain blockage that can be many things; blockages may range from incorrect diet and lifestyle to incorrect sleeping patterns to increased stressed levels or excess toxins in the body. The therapeutic reflexologist is not able to diagnose, but has the ability to assess a person and based on the assessment, offer the most appropriate therapeutic reflexology treatment regime that can assist the body to destress and then attempt to balance and heal itself from the inside out.
Therapeutic Reflexology is a science as it is based on scientific principles, but it is also an art, because therapeutic reflexologists apply the principles in different ways just like an artist will do based on their background, experience and expertise. A holistic approach may therefore mean something different for each therapeutic reflexologist.
Personally, a holistic approach for me means considering a person within the seven human dimensions as I presented in a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) study I completed in developing a counselling model years ago where I stated the seven human dimensions to be the following:
- Spiritual Dimension;
- Soul Dimension (Emotions, Intellect, Will);
- Physical Dimension;
- Social Dimension;
- Sexual Dimension;
- Financial Dimension; and
- Career/Ministry Dimension (Scheepers, 2003) *.
What this means to me as a therapeutic reflexologist, is that sometimes a person may experience a condition like infertility, but the underlying cause is not necessarily physical in nature, it may rest within any of or a combination of these seven human dimensions. A truly holistic approach, in my mind, would include consideration of all the above dimensions when offering a therapeutic reflexology treatment regime and such a treatment plan may actually include a referral to a different professional as well in order to work in conjunction with therapeutic reflexology. That is the privilege therapeutic reflexologists have as professional healthcare therapists in South Africa as part of a multi-disciplinary team. This is just one benefit the AHPCSA registration offers therapeutic reflexologists.
Therapeutic reflexology is much more than just a mere foot massage; it is a truly holistic healthcare modality that is formally registered and regulated in South Africa within a scope of practice that makes it clear that we are able to offer treatment to pre-diagnosed conditions.
* Scheepers, C.A. (2003) The Exploitation of Practical Sociology as Counselling Model for Application in a Christian-Holistic Founded Practice. Unpublished Ph.D.-thesis. Kempton Park: Commonwealth Open University.
* Please note that this Ph.D.-qualification is not South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) accredited, but it did offer me valuable knowledge in the areas of developing research skills.
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Christo A. Scheepers: Therapeutic Reflexologist
Dip.T.R.(Cum Laude) [IARAMT]
AHPCSA: A11945
Pr. No.: 1080000737453
Tel. 072-800 7243