Anthroposophic Medicine UK

Dear Colleagues and Friends,

We are writing to inform you of the result of the process of finding a new Coordinator for the Medical Section in the UK. After a process of consultation and reflection, we have invited Sibylle Eichstaedt and Dr Rainer Klocke to take on this role jointly.

After the previous Coordinator Dr Stefan Geider retired, the Medical Section Council was formed following the 2019 Medical Section Conference to devise an inclusive process for identifying a new Coordinator. The Council was formed of representatives of the various professional bodies/fields of work within anthroposophic medicine and therapy.

As you may know, three individuals were nominated by the cut off date. They were interviewed by the Council, and their personal statements were circulated to members of the professional associations and others connected with the Section. Everyone was invited to give their views on the nominees either directly to the Council or indirectly via their professional body. 

After hearing these views the Council reflected on who would be most suitable for this Coordination task. Based on the perception that Sibylle’s and Rainer’s strengths and visions would complement and enrich each other, and in the light of the fact that ours is such a large Section, we made the decision to invite them to take on this role jointly.

This recommendation was shared with Drs Matthias Girke and Georg Soldner as the Leadership of Medical Section at the Goetheanum, with an invitation to respond. Their response is as follows:

Dear Friends!

We are very pleased with your recommendation and gladly agree with it on the part of the Medical Section. You have our best wishes for fruitful work in the development of Anthroposophical Medicine. I look forward to our hopefully not only virtual meeting in May (Medical Conference at Emerson) and send good wishes for the Easter season!

Matthias and Georg

On 8^th April the Council met with Sibylle and Rainer to hear their response to our invitation. Having already had a few conversations among themselves, they responded positively, and the Council warmly welcomed and affirmed them as the new joint Medical Section Coordinators.

From Sibylle Eichstaedt and Rainer Klocke:

We feel honoured and privileged to have been invited and entrusted to jointly coordinate the work of the Medical Section in the United Kingdom at this important time. We very much look forward to this task of serving the Medical Section and wider anthroposophic medical movement, and to sharing our vision at the Medical Section Conference at Emerson from 21^st–23rd May 2021, which we hope many of us will be able to attend either in person or remotely.

We would like to thank all those who responded to the consultation process, the nominees, and Sibylle and Rainer for their willingness to take on this task.

We look forward to the May Conference when our new Coordinators will share their hopes and intentions with us all. 

With warm regards,

Melanie Taylor & Carol Kirk

For the Medical Section Council

International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations welcomes the reporting by The Observer, a sister paper of The Guardian, on the care of Covid-19 patients in German anthroposophic hospitals, including critically ill patients in the intensive care ward. The article rightly highlights how these treatments are provided in addition to state-of-the-art conventional treatments, how anthroposophic medicine is fully integrated into the German health care system and how anthroposophy “enjoys a high level of social acceptance and institutional support in German-speaking countries”. The World Health Organization’s Traditional Medicine Strategy has indeed set integration of traditional and complementary medicine into health care systems as one of its strategic goals.

While the article is generally biased against anthroposophic medicine and only quotes two known opponents of anthroposophy, it nevertheless provides welcome reporting on integrative medicine that is highly popular with patients in Europe. 

Read the remainder of this press release on the IVAA website.

Manifesting your Best Future Self is a book by Dr. Peter Gruenewald which has recently been published. Dr. Gruenewald says:

"It’s easy to feel daunted by life circumstances such as the COVID-19 pandemic, and by the personal, professional, and financial challenges that are arising from it. Unhealthy levels of stress have become widespread, resulting in physical and emotional health problems such as impaired immunity, weight problems, migraines, insomnia, hypertension, anxiety, irritability, and low mood.

This book introduces a highly effective approach that helps you trade tension, fear, anxiety, anger, and sadness for love, appreciation, gratitude, and enthusiasm, even under pressure.

You’ll notice a difference within days."

Practicing these techniques can help you:

• Deal with challenges and stress effectively.

• Improve relationships at work and at home.

• Develop more resilience and resist burnout and extreme stress.

• Improve your well-being, health, and performance, even during crisis, challenges, or continual change.

Over decades of clinical experience as a family doctor, integrated physician and resilience trainer, Dr. Gruenewald has seen the lives of his patients and clients enhanced by regular practice of these simple techniques. Dedicating just a short time each day to one or two of these exercises can have surprising benefits and lead to greater fulfillment in every realm of life.This book is an essential read for everyone who wants to take hold of their physical and emotional health and their destiny in challenging times.

Homeopathic and Anthroposophic Medicinal Products in the EU

This report from ECHAMP reviews the current state of homeopathic and anthroposophic medicinal products, which have been safely on the market in Europe for many decades, and highlights the value of many treatments in supporting EU health policy goals.

This publication confirms the long-established use, the very high safety profile, the high level of patient satisfaction and the emerging evidence base for the effectiveness of these medicines. It presents a unique picture of the real world context for this sector with up-to-date data on the industry, outlining the added value these therapies offer to society in terms of safety, effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and the environment. It is the only such source for summarised EU data on this sector.

The British Holistic Medical Association envisages:

" a more sustainable, compassionate and ‘human’ approach to how we deliver mainstream medicine "

The BHMA want to move away from over-prescription and underpin core values in healthcare such as compassion, balance, community-minded, connected, empowered, holistic, integrated, intuitive, meaningful, resilient, self-caring, wisdom and love.

Through their journal and website, the BHMA explores what holism means and stimulates debate and discussion around what it is to be human and what health looks like. Their values and aspirations align closely with those of the  Anthroposophic Medical Association so we are very happy to have partnered up with the BHMA so that we can offer AMA members a 33% discount on BHMA membership.

AMA members can find out how to claim their discount on the AMA members page.

Another year, another Christmas mistletoe story! Every year one or two newspapers run a story about a cancer patient who has used mistletoe therapy to help them. This year's story comes from the Mirror:

• Woman claims regular mistletoe injections keeps her breast cancer at bay

There is always a surge in calls to mistletoe therapy centres following the publication of such a good news story and this year is no exception. One independent practitioner received as many calls in a day as she usually receives in a month and the Camphill Wellbeing Trust have also had a lot of new enquiries.

The UK’s first mistletoe trial has entered its next stage. 

Run by the University of Bristol, the pilot trial will study the feasibility of testing the effect of mistletoe therapy on symptoms and quality of life in women with newly diagnosed breast cancer undergoing chemotherapy. The trial is now recruiting participants.

The Camphill Wellbeing Trust launched a fundraising campaign in support of the trial reaching 57% of its goal so far. You can help to raise funds towards phase 2 of the trial by donating online: http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fund/mistletoetrial

This new guide explains the dangers and risks to children and adolescents inherent in the new media.

Impairment of brain development, communications stress, danger of addiction, loss of privacy, sites that are unsuitable for young people, cyber bullying and health impairment due to continuous radiation from wireless devices.

This book illustrates the legal regulations, the safety measures and possible actions needed to prevent dangers or to address them appropriately. It provides an educational standpoint which represents an appropriate balance between the needs of children and adolescents, and the restrictions which are required as precautionary measures to safeguard against the inherent dangers. 

More information and buy online >>

A statement has been issued by the Medical Section of the Goetheanum and the International Federation of Anthroposophic Medical Associations (IVAA) on the position of Anthroposophic Medicine on Vaccinations. 

The statement is available on the IVAA News Page and is also available to download as a PDF.

There has been widespread national and  media coverage for a paper by Esther van der Werf-Kok published in BMJ Open. 

See the University of Bristol Primary Healthcare News for more information.

The BMJ Paper analysed prescribing data for practices in England who employed GPs with additional training in Integrative Medicine, including Anthroposophic Medicine, and found that prescription rates for antibiotics (which GPs are always trying to find ways to reduce) were 22% lower in practices with GPs trained in Integrative Medicine than in the average more conventional GP surgery, even after adjustment for many other factors.

This is likely to be because Integrative Medicine training gives the GPs tools other than antibiotics for helping their patients who attend their GPs for help with managing their symptoms. Further research is warranted in this area given the importance of reducing antibiotic prescribing rates. Anthroposophic Medicine has developed strategies to tackle the problem and has pressed the EU to include Anthroposophic and Homeopathic medicine in its action plan for tackling the problem.