They perceive that another person has been in the same place, felt the same pain, experienced the same sadness, known the same joy, and they are no longer alone. By allowing empathy, compassionate rapport, to develop in this way, a deep bond is created. It is this bond that is the real basis of effective healing therapy. Then the work can proceed freely, and it becomes easier to explore the question of what kinds of thoughts, images, words, deeds, medications, nutrition, exercises, or whatever, will support this central and most essential aspect of the person. The healing process consists of finding, touching, and loving this deepest sense of the patient.
Health is an expression of the whole person, and to heal is therefore to make whole.
But healing, in this sense, does not just mean that the physical function returns to normal. Such an arbitrary definition of health is impossible once we begin thinking in terms of whole people who are composed of mind. From this standpoint, health necessarily involves the coordination and congruence of all aspects of one's being, including all communications and relationships with others and with the environment. It embraces every aspect of one's life, including diet, exercise, work, play, relaxation, and so forth. This wholeness, however, depends on an internal congruence an agreement among what we think and feel and say, so they all fit together without any contradiction.