RESEARCH

The title of traditional Indigenous medicine encompasses all ancestral knowledge on health and diseases which belongs to the native peoples of our planet.
It is a rich and complex field of knowledge and healing practices, used to diagnose, conserve and recover health; a field which has not been sufficiently or properly respected, studied or understood by the ‘Western world’ and often rather underestimated and discredited, being treated as ‘superstitions’, and at best, having their successes attributed to the placebo effect.
However, a non-judgmental approach puts us in front of a body of legitimate knowledge, and with enormous potential when it comes to helping a human being in caring for their integral health (physical, mental and spiritual).
The growing interest of the scientific community towards studying the traditional medicines of the world is the reflection of a global process observed for some decades, and of the opening approach of the ‘Western world’ towards health concepts and methodologies coming from different cultures.
We believe that there is no single discipline that provides a panacea that can address all corners of the human being, without any weak points.
In this regard, it is of utmost importance to have access to rigorous and reliable information that serves those who both work and make decisions in the fields of health and public policies.
Scientific research has the fundamental role of generating such information. In addition, we believe that every person’s affinities must be loved and honored, meaning that they shall be discussed and taken into account when proposing a discipline that will address the person’s situation.
To improve the evaluation of our approach and contribute to the understanding of our work from a broader perspective, as Hermanosis, we have standardized our processes by creating a computerized system for the collection, storage and management of therapeutic and clinical information. This instrument — in addition to creating favorable conditions in terms of accessibility, rigor and quality of informations that allow to raise and carry out scientific studies on the use of plants in therapeutic contexts — serves as a support for therapists in the daily work of monitoring their patients and clinical cases.
The therapeutic work model of Hermanosis — whose originality and effectiveness have interested researchers in anthropology, ethnology, medicine, psychology and psychiatry — has been a subject of study. (Please find Jacobo’s thesis here). The empirical observations were able to verify the high efficiency of traditional ancestral treatments in healing various imbalances. Nevertheless, our protocol needs validation by the international scientific community. For this reason, several initiatives will be launched.
Here are our projects in progress:
Study on PTSD and traditional Amazonian medicine
Study on MTA and comprehensive health care with native bush plants in Spain