Risch Andreas.pdf - Osteopathic Research

These metaphors for health seem to express a complex cognitive-affective language
filled with metaphors of interoceptive sensory experiences.
Together with the sensory experiences of the visual, tactile/haptic/thermal and
acoustic categories, they make a combined statement of interoceptive and
exteroceptive sensory experience and characterize health as a personal and
professional experience. Health is becoming a metaphor itself for the values
osteopathy stands for revealing a predominantly salutogenetic paradigm. Health is
not defined by the absence of symptoms or disease but by a multidimensional scope
of physical, social and cultural experiences relating to the individual personality of
each osteopath and leading to the concept of health as a state of consciousness and
awareness.
Metaphors for orientation and direction like “HEALTH AS A SENSE OF DIRECTION,
WAY, PATH, GUIDING, ACCOMPANYING, LEADING” and the other highly frequent
categories in the physical body experience group „relation“ and „part/whole“ with
metaphors like “HEALTH AS DEPENDENT OF SOMETHING, PART OF
SOMETHING, WHOLENESS, INTEGRATION” were also used extensively.
Here the concepts of “change” and “association” are the most prevalent among the
physical body experience group. By referring to the personality model of F. Riemann
(Riemann, 1989) the concept of “change” seems to be preferred over the concept of
“duration”. On the other hand the concept of “association” seems to be preferred over
the concept of “dissociation”. In other words the competency for change and
adaptation seems to be more emphasized than the competency for reliable principles
and structures (duration and permanence). The competency for association and
wholeness seems to be more emphasized than the competency for drawing lines and
dissociation.
In the thematic experience group the sociological concept dominates as the main
concept with the category „representation“ and metaphors such as „HEALTH AS A
FORM, PICTURE, MODEL, TERM, STRUCTURE, LANGUAGE, ROLE,
BACKGROUND”. Although the „STC (Science/Technique/Crafts) concept is the third