At the other end of the scale, there is an unmistakable mental and visceral energy surge that accompanies single-minded certainty. This high can become addictive, crowding alternative possibilities from one’s awareness. There are times in the course of our lives when such single-mindedness is necessary, particularly when survival is threatened. Some people who recover from seemingly terminal illnesses (so-called ‘spontaneous remission’) appear to achieve these ‘miracles’ by attaining an unwavering one-pointed focus, never allowing doubt into the room.

But in the non-emergency circumstances where we live most of our days, absence of doubt and lack of openness to alternatives exact a heavy toll. Under the spell of absolute certainty, we perceive events and information only through the narrow door of our preconceived notions and ideologies. This may strengthen our resolve in the short run, but it diminishes our flexibility and ultimately weakens our capacity to respond creatively to new situations. This is true when it comes to matters of health and other areas of life.

In this issue of Health Insights Today, we begin to explore ways to cultivate open-mindedness. We feature interviews with two perceptive writer-practitioners, Drs. Claire Cassidy and James Dillard, who have thought deeply about these questions and arrived at unique insights that have the potential to help guide our way forward.

Nonjudgmental Evaluation
Claire Cassidy is a medical anthropologist and a leading edge proponent of that discipline’s trademark methodologies—non-judgmental description of health care approaches and non-hierarchical comparison of different healing systems. Cassidy’s approach is rooted in deep-seated humility. She never assumes that either she or anyone else has all the right answers. This leads her to steadfastly pursue additional information and new perspectives to broaden her understanding. She listens well, gives due consideration to the implications of her findings (and those of others) and consciously avoids jumping to premature conclusions. Health Insights Today is extremely pleased to bring her thought-provoking ideas to parts of the health community that may be unfamiliar with her work.

Multiple-Perspective Thinking
James Dillard, who is among the very few doctors with full professional training in chiropractic, medicine and acupuncture, is an integrative pain management specialist. His unique background enables him, and perhaps forces him, to practice multiple-perspective thinking with every patient. He conveys this beautifully in his book, The Chronic Pain Solution (Bantam, 2004) and the PBS television special on the same topic that he wrote and moderated.

Dillard persuasively asserts that chronic pain patients—who constitute a significant part of chiropractic, acupuncture and medical practice—are best served by a multi-pronged, cross-disciplinary approach where all doctors and therapists recognize and appreciate the contributions of health professions outside their own. If a physical therapist, medical doctor, or acupuncturist is convinced that chiropractic has nothing worthwhile to offer, it is his or her patients who suffer from this misperception. Similarly, if a chiropractor rejects everything about these complementary approaches, once again it is patients that are shortchanged. Serving patients is our common goal. Cooperation across professional boundaries is our shared responsibility.