[BPSDB]I’ve been reading Ofquack’s criteria for professional registration of CAM practitioners here, after Deano on the Bad Science forum pointed out some of the inanities to be found therein. It’s quite scary that this sort of stuff is receiving Establishment backing but as Private Eye and others have pointed out, Charles Windsor has been pushing strongly for this. Consider the Windsors’ favourite CAM, homeopathy, for example.
In the Introduction to the Homeopathy Dec08 pdf we find:-
“Homeopathy is a holistic system of healing…based on … treating “like with like”. Homeopathic medicines are diluted natural substances that if given to a healthy person, over time, would produce the symptoms for which the medicine is prescribed”
Homeopathic medicines are mot merely diluted, they are serially diluted to such an extent that the last molecule of active ingredient must have been thrown down the drain. All you are left with is plain water or a sugar pill onto which said plain water has been placed and allowed to evaporate. Note that despite the claims to be holistic it is concerned purely with the symptoms of the patient.
In “Knowledge and Understanding” We find:-
“3.10 homeopathic concepts of health, disease and progress in treatment”
Homeopaths reject the germ theory of disease so it would appear that the requirements for professional registration include a rejection of evidence based medicine. For them treatment consists of trying to make the symptoms go away and if this happens (or the patient and practitioner are convinced it has happened), declaring the patient “cured”. This is holistic, apparantly.
In “Homeopathic Evaluation” we find the practitioner must be aware of:-
“symptoms suggestive of miasmatic influence”.
“Miasms” are the mystic fogs that homeopaths invoke to explain the transmission of disease. In other words, magic is being endorsed as a suitable medical therapy in the twentyfirst century.
Under prognosis the practitioner must be aware of:-
“individual motivation and commitment to treatment” and
“the individual’s family and their resistance to any change”
In other words, if the patients do not get better, blame them or their families.
Under “Treatment Planning” the “Vital Force” is mentioned. More magical thinking.
“Advising clients on the effects oh homeopathic medicines” contains the classic
“a) initial intensification of existing symptoms (aggravations)
“b) return of old symptoms
“c) development of different symptoms”
This is where homeopaths proclaim the progression of a disease as proof the remedy is working!
The above are just sample quotes but frankly the document could use a line by line fisking. Skills for Health are in effect endorsing magical thinking and giving it the Establishment stamp of approval.
Tags: homeopathy, Ofquack, Skills for Health
February 10, 2009 at 9:31 pm |
Is initialintensification a typo, or is that a word homeofraudspaths actually use?
February 10, 2009 at 10:38 pm |
Typo. Corrected now.
February 11, 2009 at 12:47 am |
Unbelievable, but probably predictable.
Does stone therapy come under OfQuacks category of massage therapies?
I cam across some exam questions for these quacks on the discussion forum at http://www.healthypages.co.uk [sic]. Apparently, these are CIBTAC (“an International Examination Board responsible for the education and training of Beauty and Holistic Therapists worldwide”) exam questions that someone has posted (with their answers) to help others cheat.
Some samples:
Gross profit is defined as profit: made after cost of wages and stock have been deducted
An Autoclave sterilises by: Steam
An Aura is: A high frequency elecro-magnetic field
What way are stones held when combing? On their edge
What does NOT afftect the speed of progress? The size of the client
What colour is the root chakra? Red
Kinetic energy is energy…… In motion
(The full list is at http://www.thinkhumanism.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=2682&start=0)
It ain’t rocket science, is it?! In fact, it’s not ANY science.
February 11, 2009 at 10:32 pm |
There is a petition at the Number 10 website, asking the government to require basic evidence of efficacy (or even safety) as a condition for CNHC certification. UK residents can sign it at http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/CNHCsafety .
February 12, 2009 at 8:42 am |
Thanks for the link. Signed
February 15, 2009 at 11:26 pm |
In keeping with the immutable principles of homeopathic medicine, may I suggest that the granting of a license to practice this scientific discipline be based on the limited contact the applicant has had with homeopathy; thus, the less contact the person has had, the more likely it is that they will produce no harm by being granted a license.
This seems fair to me.