Integrated Medicine

Dr. Rebecca S. Valla specializes in integrated psychiatric medicineWe are in the process of a paradigm shift in science, which is changing our concept of human being. We are moving away from a mind/body duality and looking now at a physical body which has more complexity, and more capacity for self-healing, than we had previously thought.

We have discovered that the brain is itself “plastic”, in that it can make accommodations to renew and repair its function beyond what was believed possible. We know that the cells of our body have the capacity to respond to the demands of the environment, and to take in “signals” on an energetic basis. In this way, we see that genetics are dependent on the “field”, or the experience of the individual. This gives us a new view of evolution, which is adaptive, and anything but random. We know that the heart has great powers beyond pumping of blood throughout the body; in fact the heart is necessary for intention, which seems to be greatly related to whether healing is successful or not – and there is a “meeting of the hearts” between the healers and the healed. This is the basis of integrated medicine.

Just as science, illustrated by quantum physics, is moving away from scientific materialism and toward the undeniable truth that taking things apart does not give all the answers to how they work, and that the observer changes what is seen, the human body is not a collection of “parts”. We are not machines. We now see that “the placebo effect”, where if a sick person believes a pill will make him well, there is a high probability that it will do so, is an illustration of how powerful thought and belief can be. The artful healers of today know that they must revere the spiritual dimension of the human experience, for it is integral to how a person takes on the challenges of illness and suffering. We are learning of the powers to heal, and that self-love is essential to a wholly functioning person.