title: How Natural Therapists enhance positive expectations of patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To examine if Natural Therapists purposely enhance patient expectations, and if so which strategies are used in clinical practice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Interviews were conducted with ten experienced Australian Natural Therapists using semi-structured questionnaires. Data was analysed using grounded theory.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The Natural Therapists in the present study reported that they spent considerable time and effort to deliberately enhance positive expectations. Strategies included an enthusiastic delivery of the therapeutic scope of the practitioner's modality and the practitioner's capacity to diagnose and treat disease based upon their training and experience, and confidence in patients' self-efficacy, with an emphasis on personal strengths and positive aspects of patients' health. The therapists claimed to be optimistic, but at the same time realistic, cautioning against false hope, particularly in serious or terminal diseases. In order to enhance patient expectation greater emphasis should be placed on these strategies in the training of Natural Therapists.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, Social Work and Social Policy, University of South Australia, GPO Box 2471, Adelaide SA 5001, Australia. dellmann@dodo.com.au
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dellmann
authors.forename: Kurt
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lushington
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001315:Australia; D000529:Complementary Therapies / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011613:Psychotherapy / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D020377:Self Efficacy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors