Complementary Therapies are available to anyone who attends the Day Care Service, or is an in-patient, at St Luke's. The therapies are relaxing, pleasant to receive and can help to alleviate pain and other symptoms. The therapies aim to stimulate the body's innate tendency to self-heal and work on physical, mental, emotional and spiritual levels. They offer no promise of cure and can be used alongside orthodox medicine.
Therapies we currently offer are:
A part of Traditional Chinese Medicine which uses fine needles to stimulate certain points on the body to enable energy to flow through the body in a balanced way. Commonly used to alleviate pain but is an effective treatment for many symptoms. Painless and relaxing - despite the needles!
An holistic, healing art that combines the therapeutic qualities of essential oils of plants with the healing touch of massage.
A gentle form of deep relaxation and focused attention that can help to alleviate a wide range of problems including pain, stress and anxiety and sleep disturbances. The patient does not lose consciousness or control and cannot be made to do anything of which they are unaware.
Massage has been used therapeutically for thousands of years. It may be incorporated into other therapies or used on its own to relieve pain, stimulate blood and lymph flow, aid digestion and improve muscle and skin tone.
A massage technique, most commonly used on the feet, based on the idea that the foot has reflex points which mirror the whole of the body; by stimulating these points the corresponding parts of the body are treated.
A general balancing treatment working at an energetic level that is ultimately connected to the mind and body. The therapist's hands may be placed on or close to the body; the treatment can be done through clothing. Most people feel a sense of calm relaxation and may experience physical sensations of warmth, coolness or tingling as the energy is flowing.
The experience of Reiki is similar to that of spiritual healing but comes from a different tradition. Practitioners channel “universal or life energy” to the patient with the intention of working for the “highest good”.