Modalities

An interesting topic that I usually get into with my students and clients is the usefulness of various treatment modalities. We have to understand that most modalities out there (I say most to include only those that have scientific basis and/or high empirical evidence) are not scams, and the reason it does not work on a particular person is because it may be used in the wrong setting, at the wrong time, from the wrong practitioner/therapist. Saying acupuncture doesn't work is like saying fruits are bad. Fruit CAN be bad for people who has physiological, psychological and/or genetic make up that rejects it, the same way as acupuncture CAN be bad for clients who is under a physiological and/or psychological setting that is not suited for its delivery. So the bottom-line is: before we make any judgement on a particular treatment modality we have to keep in mind of all the other variables that can influence the effectiveness of it. As for us as therapists or practitioners, we have to be very careful with the modalities we use, we need to understand the type of injury causing the pain/discomfort, the stage it is under, and MOST importantly, involvement of any associated psychological responses.