ABSTRACT
This chapter explores some of the ways in which a patient can actively help him/herself and develop self-healing capabilities. One obvious benefit of patients achieving this active role is that it is bound to save scarce doctors' time and resources. Doctors who are able to change the 'scripts' of patients in this way are also performing a vital public health role as this will not only effect the health of that individual patient, but also that of his/her family and all those around. Positive thinking involves the replacement of negative thoughts about the patient with positive thoughts. Valuing one's own importance and worth is a necessary precursor for self-esteem. Creative visualisation is something that patients often instinctively do for themselves. The theory behind creative visualisation is that increasingly coping self-statements and positive images lead in turn to a stronger psychological and physiological resistance to disease.
