An inclusive medical model based on the body-mind-spirit trichotomy
10.14442/generalist.37.273
- VernacularTitle:霊心身三元論に基づいた包括的医学モデルの紹介
- Author:
Masahiko Koshida
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- From:An Official Journal of the Japan Primary Care Association
2014;37(3):273-280
- CountryJapan
- Language:Japanese
-
Abstract:
Three questions were provoked by the case of a young female with acute leukemia who died in spite of allogenic stem cell transplantation : 1)What is responsible for the widespread belief that bodies are like machines that can be repaired scientifically? 2)Is there a perspective enabling us to view humans and disease holistically? 3)How can clinicians deal with the question “Why do I have such a disease?” Descartes's mind-body dualism and reductionism is the origin of the biomedical model regarding the human body as a machine. Though the biopsychosocial model advocated by Engel supplanted the biomedical model, this article proposes a more holistic medical model based on the body-mind-spirit trichotomy and four relationships : “self and others,” “self and the natural environment,” “self and oneself,” and “self and transcender.” These four relationships are modeled here in a “trichotomy-triangular pyramidal model.” We postulate that the true cause of disease may be discordance among these relationships. This model is capable of describing all varieties of healthcare professions, and suggests a future form of a team approach that includes chaplains and complementary/alternative medicine specialists, and may give clinicians a guide to healing the grief of patients who ask, “why me?”
