Estebany thus treated 49 patients, who were suffering from a broad
range of illnesses; Krieger selected another 29 patients with similar problems and medical
profiles who would receive no psychic healing from Estebany, and thus serve as a
comparison (or 'control') group. When all sessions were completed, Krieger compared the
blood samples of the two groups. She found that hemoglobin levels of 'treated' groups had
increased much more than the hemoglobin level of the 'untreated' patients: as attested by
an objective measure, the patients which Estebany had visited were in better shape. What
was especially striking was that this increase in vitality was not just a short-term,
transient effect; in a follow-up study, Krieger found that the difference in hemoglobin
levels were still statistically significant a full year after Estebany's treatment!
The social and clinical importance of such studies is undeniable; since that time, nurses
all over the US have adopted the practice of 'therapeutic touch' as an adjunct to orthodox
medicine. But from a purely scientific perspective it's not entirely sure how much of the
healing effect was really due to self-healing, and how much was due to Estebany per se.
There's little doubt that patients in Krieger's study would respond psychologically to the
healer, with hope and expectation for improvement; this alone could increase the
'vitality' of treated patients over untreated individuals. So we still don't know whether
we are dealing with a genuinely paranormal healing effect, a pure placebo, or some
combination of the two.
If we want to establish a 'paranormal' element, then we need more solid proof: we need to
eliminate all sensory communication between healer and patients -- hence all 'normal'
triggers of self-healing. Granted, it may seem artificial and arbitrary to investigate
healing while separating the healer from the patient, thus depriving them from the human
contact which is so important. Yet, the fact is that many healers claim to be able to
function just as well -- or even better -- at a distance (e.g., by focusing on a photo of
the patient). So, it is not that unreasonable to expect at least some distant healing
effects if a paranormal component really exists. |
