ABSTRACT
This chapter begins to relate to the healing typology of Meredith McGuire. McGuire has provided us with a methodologically sound qualitative study of ritual healing in suburban America. She examines the role of the healer, transformations of the self and help-seeking beyond bio-medical models of health. Her work is significant in that she evaluates the widespread use of alternative medical systems by middle-class persons and their notions of health and wellness, sources of healing power and associated healing practices. McGuire proposes that healing for Christian groups is primarily based on 'New Testament descriptions of Jesus' ministry and the place of healing in the early church'. She also locates crystals within her 'external powers' categorization. The chapter constructs a picture of how women 'as healer' or 'as healed' construct new seemingly empowered identities acting within fluid fields of force.
