Reflections on "soul" and medical art

What is missing, and what we would do well to reclaim for mainstream medicine, is that quality called "soul." To reclaim it could profoundly influence our understanding of ourselves as healers, our approach to patient care, and patients' attitudes toward our work. A medical philosophy which is germane to our current problems, would foster integration of bioethics, humanities, general knowledge, depth psychology, and spirituality as they relate to patient experience. By being sensitive to the "soul" issues of patients, we improve our ability to "evoke the placebo response" and to reduce patient interest in unconventional therapies.