Once again we had a number of ThinkTree members and trainers presenting at the Integrative Health Convention. Now in its second year Drs Toh Wong and Naveed Akhtar have worked hard to bring more medics and complementary therapists together in order to share and build integrative links.
The Convention began with an address by Dr Michael Dixon (pictured below with Kush Kumar). Dr Michael Dixon is a GP and National Clinical Lead for Social Prescription (NHS England), as well as being Chairman of the College of Medicine. He has also been appointed as a government advisor on GP commissioning. His strong belief in preventative medicine, healthy living and integrated care is built on his philosophy of keeping patients well instead of waiting until they are sick.
Both Naveed and Toh practise Hypnotherapy and NLP and see effective communication as something that is vital for patient wellbeing, understanding the unfortunate power that lies in an careless suggestion.
You might be aware of our interview (see our YouTube channel) of our interview with Dr David Laird and Paula Esson on Red and Yellow Flags. A secure knowledge of Red Flags for treatments is essential for therapists for the medical profession to entrust patients to their hands and so this is what Dr Laird focused on at the convention. Meanwhile Paula Esson’s talk on Bowen and the assessment of the muscular skeletal system got rave reviews as did Dr Deepa Apte’s explanatory talk on ‘What is Ayurveda’.
All in all, there were 33 different talks to choose from in addition to the Keynote speech by Dr Michael Dixon at the beginning and a stimulating and thoughtful panel discussion at the end.
As an organisation it was a great way to build new contacts, support integrative medicine and raise awareness of ThinkTree Hub.