2014 Volume 41 Issue 2 Pages 69-76
The Health Belief Model proposes that medical treatment and patient self-care plans need to be congruent with the client's illness beliefs. When the client's illness attribution is compatible, the client is more likely to comply with both medical treatment and self-care. The authors emphasize the internal versus external locus of control dimension in illness attributions. Clients may believe that the illness is outside of personal control and that only external treatment such as surgery or medication will help. With such beliefs in place, the client is unlikely to be open to a regimen emphasizing self-regulation and personal behavioral changes. When medical professionals give information without taking into account the patient's perceptions, it can transform patients' illness beliefs and create a poorer prognosis. On the other hand, when physician's instructions suggest hope, healing is augmented by the placebo instructions. The authors propose that biofeedback and somatic feedback exercises provide effective tools for changing illness attributions and awaken the client to the impact of thoughts and emotions on physiology. A case study and a description of a somatic feedback exercise illustrate the approach.
