John Wesley's Primitive Physick: An 18th-century Health Psychology

John Wesley was an 18th- century Anglican priest whose evangelistic efforts led to the establishment of Methodist Societies in England, Ireland and America. He became greatly concerned for the spiritual and physical health of the poor. Wesley wrote a book entitled Primitive Physick: Or, an Easy and Natural Method of Curing Most Diseases. He was deeply impressed with the few physicians who called for the prevention of disease through healthy living and who recommended time-honored, inexpensive methods of cure. This article reviews Wesley's ideas and prescriptions for healthy living. The discussion reflects on his contribution to the development of a psychology of health and credits Wesley with being ahead of his time in his dietetic and hygienic recommendations. Using Matarazzo's (1982) definition the article shows that over 200 years ago Wesley dealt with each of the major concerns of health psychology and behavioral medicine.