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The Efficacy of Distant
Healing: Principal Investigators: H. Walach1, PhD; H. Bösch 1, Dipl. Psych.; E. Haraldsson 2, PhD; A. Marx 3, MD; H. Tomasson 4; G. Lewith, PhD 5 Affiliations: 1 Institute of Environmental Medicine and Hospital Epidemiology, University Hospital Freiburg; 2 Department of Psychology, University of Reykjavik, Iceland; 3 Institute of Clinical Epidemiology, University Hospital Basel, Switzerland; 4 Faculty of Economics & Business Administration, University of Reykjavik, Iceland; 5 Community Clinical Sciences, University of Southampton Medical School, UK Background: Preliminary evidence suggests possible effects during distant healing. In this study, patients suffering from multiple chemical sensitivity and chronic fatigue syndrome, which have few effective treatment options, will be offered distant healing within a formal trial. Objective of the study: The question posed is two-fold: (1) Do patients with chronic fatigue (SICF, CFS) or multiple chemical sensitivity (SR-MCS) benefit from distant healing? Is there a general, non-specific effect of healing due to expectation of healing? (2) Do patients who know that they are being treated benefit more than those who don’t? Is there a specific effect of healing, apart from the nonspecific effect of expectation? Method: This four-armed randomized trial will include 400 patients with self-attributed, environmental problems within the diagnostic criteria of Severe Idiopathic Chronic Fatigue, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome or Multiple Chemical Sensitivity. Patients will be recruited by specialized general practitioners and environmental clinics. They will be treated by healers distributed all over Europe, coming from various healing traditions and nationalities. Each patient will be treated by three healers. Healers will have no contact with the patients and will only be provided with the patient’s first name and a photograph. The patients will be randomized to one of four groups in a 2*2 factorial design. They will either receive (distant) healing or not, and either know or not know this decision. Primary outcome measure will be the mental health summary scale of the MOS SF-36. The measure will be taken at the beginning and at the end of a 6 month treatment or waiting period respectively. Hypotheses: Open treatment will be more effective than blind treatment, i.e. an interaction between treatment and knowledge of treatment is expected. Open waiting will be less effective than blind waiting, i.e. an interaction between no-treatment and knowledge of treatment is to be expected. Relationship to SIIB Mission and Focus on Healing: Few large-scale clinical studies, particularly with control groups, have investigated distant healing to date. This study will be able to evaluate if distant healing works and to what extents knowledge and expectation of healing influences that effect.
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