Q is for Quacks (In Praise of Therapists, Doctors, and other Healers in the World)

Photo of "The Healer" by Brisan. Accessed through Flickr and available through the Creative Commons license.

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"Doctors?" said Ron looking startled.  "You mean those Muggle nutters that cut people up?  Nah, they're healers!"
                                           -J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix

I both love and hate these words of Ron Weasley evaluating the limitations of Muggles like me and our ability to get each other well.  On the one hand, I like his recognition that not all healing comes at the edge of the scalpel or the sharp end of a needle. 

On the other hand, I love my doctor.  I do.  She saved my life twelve years ago when she diagnosed me with postpartum depression after the birth of my son.  She immediately started me on anti-depressants and referred me to a postpartum psychologist for a follow-up evaluation.  And she always included my mood as part of the postpartum checkups after I gave birth to my three subsequent children, keeping close tabs on me to make sure things weren't going sideways.  Thankfully, they didn't.  

This year, my doctor was my healer in so many ways: putting me on medical leave; making sure I was on the right dose and type of medication; getting me into a free, provincial cognitive therapy program.  And, at every follow-up appointment, she asked not only about my mood but my ability to manage things at home, ensuring that I had what I needed to cope with my life as a mom of four.

So yeah, I'm going to disagree with Ron and assert that my doctor is a healer.  But as much as I think my doctor is a healer, I know that healing doesn't end with her, nor can the praiseworthy title of healer be given only to her.  There are other people, professional and otherwise, who have brought healing in my life not only in this past year but throughout my life.  So in their honour, and in honour of the many other healers at work around the world, I'd like to offer up this poem of thanksgiving.  See if you can find your own healers in it or even, yourself--not for me, necessarily, but for someone else.

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For all the Healers We Give Thanks

For all the quacks, Lord, we give thanks:
The counsellors and coaches, therapists and clinicians.
For those who staunch our wounds with quiet attention,
Witnessing our departure from one path and embarkation on another;
For those who cheerlead our progress and give us eyes to see it
O Lord, we give You thanks.


For all the concerned, Lord, we give thanks:
The friends, the family, the neighbours, the clergy.
For those who bring hot meals and sugary treats;
Who call to check in or take our kids to the park.
For those who declare, "I understand," and those who admit they never will
O Lord, we give You thanks.

For all the communities, Lord, we give thanks:
The schools, the workplaces, the neighbourhoods, the congregations.
For those of the fixed presence, the webmakers of life together;
For those who greet us with joy and ask after us with compassion;
For those who give us space to heal and grace in our absence
O Lord, we give You thanks.


For all the companions, Lord, we give thanks:
The spouses, the girlfriends, the boyfriends, the best friends.
For those startled from sleep by the sound of our tears,
Those who reach out to hold our hands in the dark;
For those who bear with our weakness and accompany us into strength
O Lord, we give You thanks.

For, all the Healers, Lord, we give thanks:
For those who prize our health above their own desires or expectations;
For those who hold fast when we are broken, who speak hope into our despair.
For those who patiently bear with our sickness,
Trusting we will, one day, be well
O Lord, we give You thanks.

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Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, friends.  Richest blessings to each and every one of you.