Biography
Biography: Jeffrey Rediger
Abstract
The presentation discusses the research into the factors associated with improbable recoveries from medical illness and the implications for our understanding of health and illness. Relevant research in the field will also be discussed, several stories of remarkable recovery will be examined as examples that highlight the capacities of mind and faith that appear to underlie these recoveries. This is an exciting time in health-care, where paradigms of health, wellness and associated technologies are beginning to demonstrate efficacy in arenas where traditional disease-based models have been more limited. We will compare and contrast current strengths and limitations of the traditional biomedical model with a more person-centered approach that is built on strengths rather than deficits. Associated paradigmatic issues will be discussed and we will consider the power of a medicine that is less disease-focused and built more on wellness. We will examine this in the context of with developing technologies, which are beginning to drive this change. These technologies, we expect, will continue to democratize health, empower consumers and create dramatically new opportunities for achieving heretofore impossible levels of personal and professional wellness.