A Pilot Investigation of the Tong Ren Healing System: A Survey Study

The survey officially started on June 19, 2007*. By Sept. 2007. 296 survey questionnaires were handed out, 265 were filled in by patients and collected at the following Guinea Pig Class locations -

Allston, Concord, Quincy, Cambridge, Haverhill and Medford (all in Massachusetts, U.S.A.)

Amy Sullivan, EdD, of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, led the study.

The data has been analysed and the results are here. The report was first published at SAGEJOURNALS online under "Complementary Health Practice Review OnlineFirst", on Dec. 23, 2008.

* In 2007 Amy Sullivan was Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Co-Chair, and on Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Institutional Review Board Panel D.
The Tong Ren Healing Method: A Survey Study
Amy M. Sullivan, EdD,
Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, and
Michael Miovic, MD

Article Excerpts:

Study objective: To describe participant reports of effectiveness and safety.

Design: Cross-sectional, anonymous survey.

Participants: Adults attending group sessions.

Setting: Weekly group sessions in the Northeast US. Participants: Adults attending group sessions.

Measures: Changes in conditions attributed to TR.

Results: Response rate 89% (n = 265). Cancer (30.6%), endocrine/autoimmune (17.5%) and musculoskeletal disorders (17.2%) were the most commonly reported conditions. Among respondents who had attended more than one session (n = 216), 30% used superlatives (e.g., ''amazing'') to describe TR's impact, and one-third noted improved quality of life.

No adverse effects were described. Anxiety, depression, cancer, and autoimmune disorders appeared to have the greatest treatment responses, with 63.8%, 61.0%, 60.3%, and 58.1% of participants with these conditions reporting substantial improvements.


Conclusion: This first study documenting self-reported effects of TR shows subjective benefits and no adverse effects. Further research on this approach is warranted.


CLICK HERE for the entire article.

Researchers:

Amy M. Sullivan, EdD, is an assistant professor of Social and Behavioral Health, Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, Richmond, Virginia. Her research focus is in psycho-oncology and palliative care, clinician-patient communication about end-of-life care, and integrative approaches to improving health
and quality of life for patients with advanced cancer.

Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD, RN, is an associate professor at the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, and a Georgia Cancer Coalition Distinguished Scholar. Dr. Bauer-Wu's research and clinical expertise are in the use of integrative therapies for oncology patients. The central foci of her research have been on understanding the science of the mind-body connection and on enhancing quality of life for individuals affected by cancer, using mixed methods of quantitative (including biological and survey) and qualitative research.

Michael Miovic, MD, is a chief of the Division of Adult Psychosocial Oncology at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute (DFCI), an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, Boston. He has a special interest in spiritual issuesin mental healthcare and has published a number of case studies, articles, and chapters on the topic of spirituality
and mental health.

 

Research Project - Millie Pepple Conference Call Analysis 1/29/2009

Conference Calls as a Method of Delivering Tong Ren Therapy

Conference calls as a Method of Delivering Tong Ren Therapy
Millie Pepple MSN, APRN, BC

Abstract

Objective-
Tong Ren therapy may be used in a variety of settings, including individual treatments in a clinic, telephone sessions, guinea pig classes (in-person group sessions), live broadcast guinea pig classes (http://www.tongrenstation.com), and conference calls. This study examines the effectiveness of Tong Ren conference calls.

The project looks at the variety of health conditions treated during conference calls and the immediate and long-term results.
Implementation plan-

Data for this study was obtained from conference calls occurring on Tuesday and Thursday evenings during the first 5 months of 2008. Information obtained from each caller included their first name, the diagnosis, the chief complaint, and the sensation noted during the treatment. Some callers also shared their pain level on a 0-10 scale and the results of scans or ultrasounds. Initial and follow-up information was obtained on 500 call instances; with many callers phoning into the conference call multiple times. There were 126 different callers involved in this study. Callers accessing the conference call were from most states throughout the United States, including Hawaii, and Canada and France.

Results-
Forty-five percent of the callers have been medically diagnosed with cancer with 25 different primary cancer sites. The remaining callers had various other diagnosis including cardiac, pulmonary, endocrine, inflammatory, gastrointestinal, genitourinary, dermatologic and neurologic disorders.

Of the 500 total calls, 98% of the callers voiced positive effects such as relaxation, warmth, and pain-relief. Of the 10 callers who did not experience positive effects, four were first time callers that called in to future conference calls and on each subsequent call noted positive effects.

Some callers noted relief of symptoms while another caller was being treated. Pre and post pain levels were obtained on 10.5% of the callers. Using the mean pre-pain level and mean post-pain level it was found that pain was reduced by 64.6% following treatments. Fifteen callers shared the positive results of scans and ultrasounds performed while receiving Tong Ren therapy.

The monitored conference calls were led by four different therapists. The percentage of callers that voiced positive effects varied between 97.6% and 100% in each of the four therapists. This may lead to the inference that the positive responses were related to the Tong Ren treatments rather than a specific therapist. This is one area where further study may be warranted.

Of the 126 different callers, 81 called in more than one time with 15 callers accessing the conference call a minimum of 10 times. The number of repeat callers would suggest that the callers believe that the conference calls play a significant role in their healing.

This study may be useful in the promotion of Tong Ren conference calls for persons seeking healing who are unable to attend guinea pig classes or individual healing sessions. The treatments may be used concomitantly with Western medicine cancer treatments. The study indicates that many people receive some perceived benefit, especially with pain relief and relaxation, as indicated by self-reported ratings and repeat calls. Although further study may be warranted, this study suggests the effectiveness of Tong Ren therapy as a long distance healing modality.

The conference calls monitored for this study included:
Tong Ren Individual Therapy Conference Calls:
Tuesday---7:00pm-8:00pm(EST)
Rick Kuethe with Carol Kershaw
Thursday—8:30-9:30pm(EST)—Cancer and ALS patients only
9:30-10:30pm(EST) open call
Craig and Janet Holmes
The conference calls may be accessed through telephone number: (712)432-3900. The conference ID is 7501379#

A listing of other available conference calls may be found at: http://www.tomtam.com/content/tong-ren-conference-call

For more details of this Analysis please CLICK HERE.

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