Speaker Biographies

Patricia Waite

Miss Waite trained as a physiotherapist and also taught physiotherapy, before training as a chiropracter. She is a member of the British Chiropractic Association, a State Registered Physiotherapist and a member of the International College of Applied Kinesiology.

Dr Arun Sharma

Completed his GP training in Inverness, and is doing a GP fellowship through the University of Aberdeen. He has been training with the National Federation of Spiritual healers since 1998 and uses spiritual healing in general practice.

‘ Spiritual healing is non-denominational and is described as the transfer of healing energy from a spiritual source through the healer to the patient who is sitting or lying fully clothed. There is little touch involved, most patients experience relaxation and it is sometimes an emotional experience. It claims to have benefits on either physical, emotional or spiritual levels. It does not promise cure but aims to catalyse self-healing and promote well being.’

Tim Baker

Mr Baker is a Registered Osteopath and Registered Naturopathic Physician. He is Journal Editor of Guth Albannach, Journal and Newsletter of the Scottish Osteopathic Society. He practises in Dundee’s West End Osteopathic Clinic, a stone’s throw from Westpark conference centre.

Margaret Smillie

Margaret has been involved in complementary therapies for fourteen years, specialising in reflexology, aromatherapy, remedial massage and meditation techniques.  She has worked with M.S. sufferers for 11 years, has taught reflexology with The Scottish School of Reflexology for 8 years and the Diploma in Clinical Aromatherapy at Motherwell College for 5 years.

Margaret is the external examiner for the Scottish Institute of Reflexology and is a member of their Accreditation Committee.  She took part in a Complementary Therapy Study Tour to China in l993, has lead various workshops in Reflexology for the medical profession at Lancaster House in Glasgow, and has been involved with various groups within health and community education in the Glasgow area. Last year she was invited to join in the preparation of the MSc course in Complementary Therapies at Queen Margaret University College, Edinburgh, where she will be lecturing in Reflexology. This course will be open to health professionals and will be research based.

Dr Brian McMullen

Dr McMullen is a General Practitioner in Kinloss and a member of the British Holistic Medical Association.

Dr Fawzi Sharara

Trained in general surgery before moving into complementary medicine, he is an instructor on the courses run for doctors by the British Medical Acupuncture Society and practices in Helensburgh.

Eva Tombs-Heirman

Eva Tombs-Heirman is a fully qualified and registered classical homeopath with patients all over the world and a passion for plant study and Herbal Lore. She is Founder/director of AVEVA LTD, a multi-disciplinary Alternative and Complementary Health Centre with premise in Edinburgh and Glasgow and the director of AVEVA Natural Remedies, where she oversees the growing, picking and processing of herbs for teas, tinctures, creams and oils for personal and therapeutic use.

‘Herbs are all around us, they grow by the roadside, we see them in the garden, we use them as food. Now find out what you can achieve as a health support worker or family member with Chamomile, Elderflowers, Lavender, Peppermint, St John’s Wort, Nettles, Birch leaves. When is a herb a food and when is it a drug? How do you find out if a Herbalist, Homeopath or other Alternative Therapist is a professional practitioner?’

Dr Tom Whitmarsh

Dr Whitmarsh is a Consultant Physician at Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital.

Summary

The first speaker, Patricia Waite, summarised the history of Chiropractic in the context of a longer history of manipulative medicine, and described the training required for registration. She emphasised holism in its approach, and the legacy of tissue injury which each individual carries through life. She presented data on the safety of chiropractic treatments. She also described the basic ideas of applied kinesiology and demonstrated the weakening of a muscle by external influences to illustrate this.

Dr Sharma described what is meant by Spiritual Healing, and the common idea of Energy shared by many complementary therapies. Spiritual healing promotes self-healing, well-being and balance, without claiming to cure or being a religion. He gave a fascinating demonstration of spiritual healing effects.

Mr Baker summarised the history of osteopathy, starting with Andrew Taylor Still’s work beginning with a conventional medical education and his subsequent development of ideas and eventual break from this tradition. Osteopathy recognises the body as a unit, not a collection of separate organs or systems. There is a reciprocal relationship between structure and function, and intrinsic self-regulating and self-repairing mechanisms which can in some instances be overwhelmed by external factors or disruption of ones adaptability. Flow of fluids within the body is important, as is nerve function, and disease can result from interaction between somatic and visceral components.

Mr Baker described the training and registration of osteopaths, both of which are as rigorous as for conventional medical practice. Osteopaths are trained to diagnose, and in appropriate cases to refer to other medical services.

Margaret Smillie described reflexology. This diagnoses problems elsewhere in the body by the findings of signs in the feet. Problems in the foot itself can lead to symptoms elsewhere in the body, and the reflexologist is concerned with the interpretation and treatment of these signs.

Dr Brian McMullen contrasted the reductionist ideas which run through much conventional medicine, with the holistic view of the inter-connectedness of everything. These beliefs may explain why people choose alternative therapies, with more opportunity for a therapeutic relationship involving Energy and quality time from complementary therapists, than from the conventional health services with a more paternalistic approach.

Dr Fawzi Sharara told us of the history of acupuncture and its incorporation into Western medicine in recent years, with neurophysiological evidence emerging and leading to the evolution of modern western acupuncture alongside continued use of acupuncture techniques documented by the Chinese.

Mrs Tombs-Heirman described use of herbs, showing a classification of herbs into broad groups by their effects. All have been used safely for generations, and can be used fresh (many she described being found wild in Britain) or as dried preparations.

Finally, Dr Whitmarsh presented the work of the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital. He showed results from research showing the effectiveness of their work, using the Glasgow Homeopathic Hospital Outcome Scale.

A D Mitchell

December 2001

Sponsors

The Scottish Society of Rehabilitation gratefully acknowledges the sponsorship of the following companies:

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