Middle Medicine

A topic that I expect to touch upon often in this blog is the problem of loving systems more than people. I recall that while I was in school my teacher would often say, “but just remember, this is theory!”. He meant many things by this, but the fundamental meaning always had to do with mental constructs and their limitations. It is a wisdom that runs throughout Chinese culture (and, I wager, traditional cultures in general) that a system is no more than a bridge, and that, when it has been crossed, that bridge will lose its usefulness as the journey continues on the other side.
I have witnessed, so many times, medical Doctors loving their diagnosis more than the patient. Because of technical reasons which I will explore in another post on CM diagnosis, this is more difficult to do in CM, but yet I have still seen it happen. I too have found myself loving my system more than my patient at times.
This is dangerous because when we do this our patient loses their voice, and we, as therapists, lose our life-line to the truth of their condition.
Therapists must always stand on the side of the patient, not the theory, and yet both people must simultaneously retain a healthy respect for the guidance and context which the theory brings. Only in this way can we be sure to remain therapists and not cross the line into mental narcissism.