In one of the weekly local ad papersm there was a somewhat odd ad this week [update: and again some time later] by some “spiritual healer” named Karin Fritsch – an ad consisting of lots of text, presumably to imitate an article. Following a few quotations (emphasis mine) with (not just) my comments; all translated by me. The headline:

Spinal Straightening with Spiritual Healing

Others, by the way, include “divine energies” in their claims – on Spreeblick, Johnny wrote a report about 3 years ago about such a questionable “spine straightening” that he participated in himself (performed by a certain Christian Stippekohl): “Glaube kann Ferse versetzen” = “Faith can move heels”.

From the ad:
Spiritual healing bases its successes in the fact that man consists of body, mind and soul, healer Karin Fritsch explains. Since everything is connected with everything, it’s possible to invoke the infinite wisdom inside of us through the soul using the high vibration of powerful healing energy.

Infinite wisdom? Now who can claim to possess that? Not even myself. No, seriously, those words may sound great, but the more grandious and exuberant the words and superlatives become (and there are more to follow), the more eyewashing and dubious the whole stuff becomes, I think. Not that I’d see anything not dubious in such a topic anyway…

For spiritual healing, an open, maybe curious attitude that you bring along should be sufficient.

Or put otherwise: A placebo works only if the patient doesn’t know or guess that it is a placebo.

To make [the deformation of the spine] visible, she draws a marker line on the heels of the person seeking help that clearly shows the leg length difference in sitting or lying position.

Yeah, you have to see how the legs are moved to and fro… From Johnny’s report:

Spreeblick:
[…] holds his hands above me conjuringly. After a few seconds I can sit up again to look at the result. Christian [Stippekohl] grabs my feet again, and behold: My legs now appear to have the same length! Polaroid!

Enough. I dare to protest. I change my sitting position a little and show him that my feet don’t have the same length anymore like this. Yeah-ha-ha!!!! the master says slightly sour, but I manipulated! Erm, I think, before Christian continues. He wouldn’t have to prove anything to me. He wants to give me presents!

For 120 Euro, I’m giving him something, too, I think, but again don’t say it. I’m confused. Where did I end up here? At the club of the happy self-deceptionists?

Do I have to add anything to that?

By the way, the “healer” who placed this ad also offers “misaligned pelvis correction” and “straightening of the shoulder-blades”, the “analysis” of which by just holding rulers agains them (and that with thick shirt and denims) also Johnny reports.

Advert:
I just a few moments she loosens blockades in body, mind, and soul, without touch, with the bundled power of a strong energy flow from the top level, […]

“Highest level”, aha. Sure. Of course. Whatever that may be. Loosening of “blockaden” is also easily done by relaxing, as also Johnny mentions, no matter if done by a massage or a reiki treatment (whose effects aren’t scientifically proven either, of course, except for placebo effects and relaxing, that is).

The healer explains that this succeeds because we are predominantly spiritual beings and the straightening takes place of all levels of human existencet.

Well, I could try to float through the air, then, maybe with my body, maybe leaving it temporarily – should work, being a spiritual being, shouldn’t it? Or can you only learn this with long, expensive lessons? But such lessons were another matter, and the ad is not about those…

Persons seeking help immediately feel noticable relief, connected with deep inner harmony and peace.

Let’s quote (and translate) Johnny again:

Spreeblick:
I also don’t doubt that there are people who feel better after the “divine straightening” than before. Maybe because they were able to really relax for the first time since long ago, maybe because they simply wanted to feel better and needed a little push. I think that “miracle healer” utilize the fact that many people can “heal themselves” at specific points. Also visiting a therapist can, for example, already after the first time, even without actions on behalf of the therapist, work “miracles” since for once someone simply listened to them. Maybe the little things are enough.

I don’t know if or how much the “treatment” offered in the advert (weekend after next in a hotel) costs – only a phone number in Munich is given for registration –, but my personal assumption that later offers will become more expensive shouldn’t be that far-fetched. And even if not: Once the potential customers – and who participates in stuff like this will generally tend more towards such mysticism – acquired a taste for it, “spiritual healers” certainly won’t lose their jobs.

Surely such “treatments” are, at first, not dangerous to one’s health as such, and relaxing certainly isn’t bad. However, besides a possible psychic addiction in singular cases(?) – there apparently are people who visit such “healers” over and over again because any problems didn’t get better after all but they are so blind to believe it would still get better later on anyway – and besides the costs (if they reach a significant level), it might become dangerous in case of serious health problems if they refuse “real” medical treatments and rather rely on inadequate cures or even “miracle healing”. And the possibility that especially the more dubious among the “healers” intentionally tell their “patients” wrong diagnoses in order to be able to sell them more and more expensive “treatments” can’t be ruled out in ominous paramedical areas either. (Nota bene: Of course I don’t claim that the “spiritual healer” who placed this ad is one of such fraudsters, especially since I don’t know her and couldn’t find anything about her.)

Link tips: SkepDic: Healing touch, “alternative” medicine.