Posted 03/10/2009
At WholeHealth Chicago we view health care differently than most conventional doctors, so when patients share sentiments like the one in the headline, it makes our day a very good one.
Following the original definition of the word “doctor,” we see ourselves as teachers, not body mechanics (or in my case, someone who ministers to broken psyches) focused on fixing illness. We don’t view our patients as helpless souls trapped in bodies that are destined to break down and we don’t dismiss problems by prescribing medicine when drugs aren’t the best treatment.
We like to engage patients to understand how we can help them live a more healthy life. And we recognize that physical symptoms often aren’t signs of serious disease, but messages alerting us to changes we need to make in our lives.
At WHC, we get to know our patients so we can see their physical problems in the full context of their life. Often, after a 60-minute initial appointment with Dr. Edelberg, he’ll realize that a treatment by one of our practitioners is the best next step in order to immediately shift a pattern from one that’s moving towards illness into one that supports health.
Sometimes a same-day referral can be accommodated. Recently, Jill W came to our office. Here’s how she described her experience that day:
I went to see Dr. Edelberg for my annual physical exam. While I was there, I said I was experiencing anxiety about driving. I was expecting to get a referral and make an appointment to see someone at a later date. Dr. Edelberg said I could see Dr. Stoler, a psychologist at WholeHealth Chicago, when I was done with my physical. I was very surprised and impressed that I could see someone that day. Dr. Stoler spent an hour and a half assessing me and providing treatment using energy psychology. When I left, I felt much better, both about driving and that my issues had been addressed that very day. Thanks!
I asked Jill to call me in a couple of days to update me on her driving. When she did, she told me her anxiety hadn’t been a problem and that she’d managed a situation that previously would have caused her considerable anxiety.
Jill’s experience isn’t unique at WHC. Energy psychology, like other so-called “alternative” treatments offered in our office, helped her access her natural healing abilities. What she experienced in just one appointment is a model for what we believe a doctor’s visit should be like.
To your health,
Larry Stoler, PhD, DCEP
Clinical Psychologist