Dr. Hedaya was recently interviewed by the Integrative Medicine Clinician’s Journal. He was asked about the role of hope in the healing process. This is his response:
“Hope is critical in all healing. A book written by Jerome Frank Persuasion and Healing deals with this topic very effectively. Hopelessness is one of the cardinal features of depression (as is helplessness). Hope and depression are inversely correlated. Hope assists healing and can in and of itself cause healing, but there are many situations (e.g., pernicious anemia leading to panic and depression) which cannot be treated with hope. They require some detective work and targeted treatments. Hope can keep the patient engaged in the process of healing.”