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therapy(redirected from doxycycline polymer therapy)
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activity therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the prescription of and assistance with specific physical, cognitive, social, and spiritual activities to increase the range, frequency, or duration of an individual's (or group's) activity.
aerosol therapy see aerosol therapy.
animal-assisted therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the purposeful use of animals to provide affection, attention, diversion, and relaxation.
anticoagulant therapy see anticoagulant therapy.
antineoplastic therapy see antineoplastic therapy.
antiplatelet therapy the use of platelet inhibitors such as aspirin, dipyridamole, or sulfinpyrazone, to inhibit platelet adhesion or aggregation and so prevent thrombosis, alter the course of atherosclerosis, or prolong vascular graft patency.
art therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as facilitation of communication through drawings or other art forms.
aversion therapy (aversive therapy) a form of behavior therapy that uses aversive conditioning, pairing undesirable behavior or symptoms with unpleasant stimulation in order to reduce or eliminate the behavior of symptoms. The term is sometimes used synonymously with aversive conditioning.
behavior therapy see behavior therapy.
carbon dioxide–oxygen therapy see carbon dioxide–oxygen therapy.
chest physical therapy see under physical therapy.
client-centered therapy a form of psychotherapy in which the emphasis is on the patient's self-discovery, interpretation, conflict resolution, and reorganization of values and life approach, which are enabled by the warm, nondirective, unconditionally accepting support of the therapist, who reflects and clarifies the patient's discoveries.
cognitive therapy (cognitive-behavioral therapy) a directive form of psychotherapy based on the theory that emotional problems result from distorted attitudes and ways of thinking that can be corrected. Using techniques drawn in part from behavior therapy, the therapist actively seeks to guide the patient in altering or revising negative or erroneous perceptions and attitudes.
collapse therapy a formerly common treatment for pulmonary tuberculosis in which the diseased lung was collapsed in order to immobilize it and allow it to rest. pneumonolysis and thoracoplasty are methods still sometimes used to collapse a lung and allow access during thoracic surgery.
combined modality therapy treatment of cancer using two or more types of therapy, such as with chemoradiotherapy. Called also multimodality therapy.
compression therapy treatment of venous insufficiency, varicose veins, or venous ulceration of the lower limbs by having the patient wear compressing garments such as support hose.
continuous renal replacement therapy hemodialysis or hemofiltration done 24 hours a day for an extended period, usually in a critically ill patient.
convulsive therapy treatment of mental disorders, primarily depression, by induction of convulsions. The type almost universally used now is electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), in which the convulsions are induced by electric current. In the past, drugs were sometimes used.
couples therapy marital t.
diet therapy treatment of disease by regulation of the diet.
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (electroshock therapy) see electroconvulsive therapy.
endocrine therapy treatment of disease by means of hormones; called also hormonal or hormone therapy.
estrogen replacement therapy administration of an estrogen to treat estrogen deficiency, such as that occurring after menopause; there are a number of indications, including the prevention of postmenopausal osteoporosis and coronary artery disease, and the prevention and treatment of vasomotor symptoms such as hot flashes and of thinning of the skin and vaginal epithelium, atrophic vaginitis, and vulvar atrophy. In women with a uterus, a progestational agent is usually included to prevent endometrial hyperplasia. Called also hormone replacement therapy.
exercise therapy: ambulation in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as promotion of and assistance with walking to maintain or restore autonomic and voluntary body functions during treatment and recovery from illness or injury.
exercise therapy: balance in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as use of specific activities, postures, and movements to maintain, enhance, or restore balance.
exercise therapy: joint mobility in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the use of active or passive body movement to maintain or restore joint flexibility.
exercise therapy: muscle control in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the use of specific activity or exercise protocols to enhance or restore controlled body movement.
family therapy
1. group therapy of the members of a family, exploring and improving family relationships and processes, understanding and modifying home influences that contribute to mental disorder in one or more family members, and improving communication and collective, constructive methods of problem-solving.
2. in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as assisting family members to move their family toward a more productive way of living.
gold therapy chrysotherapy.
group therapy see group therapy.
helium-oxygen therapy see helium-oxygen therapy.
hemodialysis therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as management of extracorporeal passage of the patient's blood through a hemodialyzer. See also hemodialysis.
hemofiltration therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as cleansing of acutely ill patient's blood via a hemofilter controlled by the patient's hydrostatic pressure. See also hemofiltration.
highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) the aggressive use of extremely potent antiretroviral agents in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection.
hormonal therapy (hormone therapy) endocrine therapy.
hormone replacement therapy the administration of hormones to correct a deficiency; usually used to denote estrogen replacement therapy occurring after menopause.
host modulating therapy efforts to control periodontal disease by directly targeting the host response; an example is the use of drugs that do this, such as sub-antimicrobial doses of doxycycline, nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs, or bisphosphonates.
humidification therapy (humidity therapy) the therapeutic use of air supersaturated with water to prevent or correct a moisture deficit in the respiratory tract; see also humidity therapy.
immunosuppressive therapy therapeutic immunosuppression.
inhalation therapy the term formerly used for respiratory care (def. 3).
intravenous therapy (IV therapy) in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as administration and monitoring of intravenous infusions of fluids and medications.
leech therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the application of medicinal leeches to help drain replanted or transplanted tissue engorged with venous blood.
marital therapy a type of family therapy aimed at understanding and treating one or both members of a couple in the context of a distressed relationship, but not necessarily addressing the discordant relationship itself. In the past, the term has also been used in a narrower sense to mean what is defined as marriage therapy, but that is increasingly considered a subset of marital therapy. Called also couples therapy.
marriage therapy a subset of marital therapy that focuses specifically on the bond of marriage between two people, enhancing and preserving it.
milieu therapy
1. treatment, usually in a psychiatric treatment center, that emphasizes the provision of an environment and activities appropriate to the patient's emotional and interpersonal needs.
2. in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the use of people, resources, and events in the patient's immediate environment to promote optimal psychosocial functioning.
multimodality therapy combined modality therapy.
music therapy
1. the use of music to effect positive changes in the psychological, physical, cognitive, or social functioning of individuals with health or educational problems. Music therapy is used for a wide variety of conditions, including mental disorders, developmental and learning disabilities, Alzheimer's disease and other conditions related to aging, brain injury, substance abuse, and physical disability. It is also used for the management of acute and chronic pain and for the reduction of stress.
2. in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as using music to help achieve a specific change in behavior or feeling.
neoadjuvant therapy in single-agent therapy or combined modality therapy for cancer, initial use of one modality, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, to decrease tumor burden prior to use of another modality, usually surgery.
nutrition therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as administration of food and fluids to support metabolic processes of a patient who is malnourished or at high risk for becoming malnourished. See also nutrition.
occupational therapy see occupational therapy.
optometric vision therapy a treatment plan prescribed to correct or improve specific dysfunctions of the vision system; it includes, but is not limited to, the treatment of strabismus (turned eye), other dysfunctions of binocularity (eye teaming), amblyopia (lazy eye), accommodation (eye focusing), ocular motor function (general eye movement ability), and visual-motor and visual-perceptual abilities.
oral rehydration therapy (ORT) oral administration of a solution of electrolytes and carbohydrates in the treatment of dehydration.
oxygen therapy see oxygen therapy.
peritoneal dialysis therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as administration and monitoring of dialysis solution into and out of the peritoneal cavity. See also peritoneal dialysis.
physical therapy see physical therapy.
play therapy see play therapy.
pulp canal therapy root canal therapy.
PUVA therapy [psoralen + ultraviolet A], a form of photochemotherapy for skin disorders such as psoriasis and vitiligo; oral psoralen administration is followed two hours later by exposure to ultraviolet a radiation.
radiation therapy see radiation therapy.
recreation therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the purposeful use of recreation to promote relaxation and enhancement of social skills.
reminiscence therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as using the recall of past events, feelings, and thoughts to facilitate pleasure, quality of life, or adaptation to present circumstances.
renal replacement therapy therapy such as hemodialysis or transplantation that takes the place of nonfunctioning kidneys. See also continuous renal replacement therapy.
replacement therapy treatment to replace deficient formation or loss of body products by administration of the natural body products or synthetic substitutes. See also replacement. Called also substitution therapy.
respiratory therapy respiratory care.
root canal therapy that aspect of endodontics dealing with the treatment of diseases of the dental pulp, consisting of partial (pulpotomy) or complete (pulpectomy) extirpation of the diseased pulp, cleaning and sterilization of the empty root canal, enlarging and shaping the canal to receive sealing material, and obturation of the canal with a nonirritating hermetic sealing agent. Called also pulp canal therapy.
shock therapy obsolete term for convulsive therapy.
simple relaxation therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as the use of techniques to encourage and elicit relaxation for the purpose of decreasing undesirable signs and symptoms such as pain, muscle tension, or anxiety.
speech therapy the use of special techniques for correction of speech disorders.
substitution therapy replacement therapy.
swallowing therapy in the nursing interventions classification, a nursing intervention defined as facilitating swallowing and preventing complications of impaired swallowing.
thrombolytic therapy the administration of drugs for thrombolysis (dissolution of a thrombus in an artery), to reduce the size of occlusion and thereby reduce damage to muscular tissue; the coronary artery is a commonly used site. Agents commonly used are streptokinase and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA).
thyroid replacement therapy treatment of hypothyroidism by administration of thyroxine, usually in the form of levothyroxine sodium. Called also thyrotherapy.
ultraviolet therapy see ultraviolet therapy.
1. The treatment of disease or disorder by any method.
See also: therapeutics.
See also: psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis.
See also: therapeutics.
See also: psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis.
2. In psychiatry and clinical psychology, a short term for psychotherapy.
See also: psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis.
See also: psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis.
Synonym(s): therapeusis (2) , therapia (1)
[G. therapeia, medical treatment]
therapy/ther·a·py/ (-pe) the treatment of disease; see also treatment.
ablation therapy the destruction of small areas of myocardial tissue, usually by application of electrical or chemical energy, in the treatment of some tachyarrhythmias.
adjuvant therapy the use of chemotherapy or radiotherapy in addition to surgical resection in the treatment of cancer.
antiplatelet therapy the use of platelet-modifying agents to inhibit platelet adhesion or aggregation and so prevent thrombosis, alter the course of atherosclerosis, or prolong vascular graft patency.
art therapy the use of art, the creative process, and patient response to the products created for the treatment of psychiatric and psychologic conditions and for rehabilitation.
aversion therapy , aversive therapy that using aversive conditioning to reduce or eliminate undesirable behavior or symptoms; sometimes used synonymously with aversive conditioning.
behavior therapy a therapeutic approach that focuses on modifying the patient's observable behavior, rather than on the conflicts and unconscious processes presumed to underlie the behavior.
biological therapy treatment of disease by injection of substances that produce a biological reaction in the organism.
chelation therapy the use of a chelating agent to remove toxic metals from the body, used in the treatment of heavy metal poisoning. In complementary medicine, also used for the treatment of atherosclerosis and other disorders.
cognitive therapy , cognitive-behavioral therapy that based on the theory that emotional problems result from distorted attitudes and ways of thinking that can be corrected, the therapist guiding the patient to do so.
convulsive therapy treatment of mental disorders, primarily depression, by induction of convulsions; now it is virtually always by electric shock (electroconvulsive t.) .
couples therapy marital t.
dance therapy the therapeutic use of movement to further the emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the individual in the treatment of a variety of social, emotional, cognitive, and physical disorders.
electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) a treatment for mental disorders, primarily depression, in which convulsions and loss of consciousness are induced by application of brief pulses of low-voltage alternating current to the brain via scalp electrodes.
electroshock therapy (EST) electroconvulsive t.
endocrine therapy treatment of disease by the use of hormones.
estrogen replacement therapy administration of an estrogen to treat estrogen deficiency, as that following menopause; in women with a uterus, a progestational agent is usually included to prevent endometrial hyperplasia.
enzyme therapy in complementary medicine, the oral administration of proteolytic enzymes to improve immune system function; used for a wide variety of disorders and as adjunctive therapy in cancer treatment.
family therapy group therapy of the members of a family, exploring and improving family relationships and processes and thus the mental health of the collective unit and of individual members.
fibrinolytic therapy the use of fibrinolytic agents (e.g., prourokinase) to lyse thrombi in patients with acute peripheral arterial occlusion, deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism, or acute myocardial infarction.
gene therapy manipulation of the genome of an individual to prevent, mask, or lessen the effects of a genetic disorder.
group therapy psychotherapy carried out regularly with a group of patients under the guidance of a group leader, usually a therapist.
highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) the aggressive use of extremely potent antiretroviral agents in the treatment of human immunodeficiency virus infection.
hormonal therapy , hormone therapy endocrine t.
hormone replacement therapy the administration of hormones to correct a deficiency, such as postmenopausal estrogen replacement ttherapy.
immunosuppressive therapy treatment with agents, such as x-rays, corticosteroids, or cytotoxic chemicals, that suppress the immune response to antigen(s); used in conditions such as organ transplantation, autoimmune disease, allergy, multiple myeloma, and chronic nephritis.
inhalation therapy former name for respiratory care (2).
light therapy
1. phototherapy (def. 1).
marital therapy a type of family therapy aimed at understanding and treating one or both members of a couple in the context of a distressed relationship, but not necessarily addressing the discordant relationship itself; sometimes used more restrictively as a synonym of marriage therapy .
marriage therapy a subset of marital therapy (q.v.) that focuses specifically on the bond of marriage between two people, enhancing and preserving it.
massage therapy the manipulation of the soft tissues of the body for the purpose of normalizing them, thereby enhancing health and healing.
milieu therapy treatment, usually in a psychiatric hospital, that emphasizes the provision of an environment and activities appropriate to the patient's emotional and interpersonal needs.
music therapy the use of music to effect positive changes in the psychological, physical, cognitive, or social functioning of individuals with health or educational problems.
occupational therapy the therapeutic use of self-care, work, and play activities to increase function, enhance development, and prevent disabilities.
oral rehydration therapy (ORT) oral administration of a solution of electrolytes and carbohydrates in the treatment of dehydration.
orthomolecular therapy treatment of disease based on the theory that restoration of optimal concentrations of substances normally present in the body, such as vitamins, trace elements, and amino acids, will effect a cure.
photodynamic therapy intravenous administration of hematoporphyrin derivative, which concentrates selectively in metabolically active tumor tissue, followed by exposure of the tumor tissue to red laser light to produce cytotoxic free radicals that destroy hematoporphyrin-containing tissue.
physical therapy
1. treatment by physical means.
2. the health profession concerned with the promotion of health, the prevention of disability, and the evaluation and rehabilitation of patients disabled by pain, disease, or injury, and with treatment by physical therapeutic measures as opposed to medical, surgical, or radiologic measures.
poetry therapy a form of bibliotherapy in which a selected poem, which may be created by the patient, is used to evoke feelings and responses for discussion in a therapeutic setting.
PUVA therapy a form of photochemotherapy for skin disorders such as psoriasis and vitiligo; oral psoralen administration is followed two hours later by exposure to ultraviolet light.
radiation therapy radiotherapy.
relaxation therapy any of a number of techniques for inducing the relaxation response, used for the reduction of stress; useful in the management of a wide variety of chronic illnesses caused or exacerbated by stress.
replacement therapy
1. treatment to replace deficiencies in body products by administration of natural or synthetic substitutes.
2. treatment that replaces or compensates for a nonfunctioning organ, e.g., hemodialysis.
respiratory therapy see under care.
substitution therapy the administration of a hormone to compensate for glandular deficiency.
thrombolytic therapy fibrinolytic t.
thyroid replacement therapy treatment with a preparation of a thyroid hormone.
n. pl. thera·pies
1. Treatment of illness, injury, or disability.
2. Psychotherapy.
3. Healing power or quality: the therapy of fresh air and sun.
Etymology: Gk, therapeia, treatment
the treatment of any disease or a pathological condition, such as inhalation therapy, which administers various medicines for patients suffering from diseases of the respiratory tract.
therapyA general term for any form of management of a particular condition; treatment intended and expected to alleviate a disease or disorder; any technique of recovery, which may be medical, psychiatric, or psychological. See Ablation therapy, 'Abracadabra therapy, ' Adjunctive therapy, Adjuvant therapy, Air ionization therapy, Alternative therapy, Amino acid therapy, Androgen deprivation therapy, Androgen replacement therapy, Angiogenic gene therapy, Antiadhesive therapy, Antiarrhythmic therapy, Antibiotherapy, Antibody directed enzyme prodrug therapy, Anticoagulant therapy, Antioxidant therapy, Antiplatelet therapy, Antisense therapy, Antistenotic therapy, Autohemotherapy, Autolymphocyte therapy, Autosuggestion therapy, Aversion therapy, B chain therapy, B-1 therapy, Baggie™ therapy, Balance therapy, BCS therapy, Bee venom therapy, Behavior therapy, Benjamin system of muscular therapy, Biodynamic therapy, Biotherapy, Bladder-conserving therapy, Blood component therapy, Body therapy, Body-oriented psychotherapy, Boron therapy, Brachytherapy, Breast conservation therapy, Breath therapy, Bright light therapy, Burst therapy, Cardiovascular gene therapy, Castration therapy, Catheter ablation therapy, Cell therapy, Chelation therapy, Chemotherapy, Chiropractic therapy, Chronotherapy, Cognitive therapy, Cognitive behavioral therapy, Cold therapy, Colon therapy, Combination therapy, Combination chemotherapy, Combined modality therapy, Concentration therapy, Concept therapy, Condom therapy, Confrontation therapy, Conservative therapy, Continuous sleep therapy, Conventional therapy, Convergent therapy, Creative arts therapy, Cryotherapy, Cymatic therapy, Cytokine gene therapy, Dance (movement) therapy, Desensitization therapy, Detoxification therapy, Differentiation therapy, Directly-observed therapy, Double whammy therapy, Drama therapy, Dream therapy, E5 therapy, Electric therapy, Electroconvulsive therapy, Encapsulated cell therapy, Electroporation therapy, Encounter group therapy, Enzyme therapy, Enzyme replacement therapy, Estrogen replacement therapy, Exercise/movement therapy, Ex vivo therapy, Ex vivo gene therapy, Extracorporeal shock wave therapy, Fab therapy, Family therapy, Fever therapy, Fourth therapy, Germ cell gene therapy, Gene therapy, Gestalt therapy, Group therapy, HAART therapy, Heat therapy, Hematogenic oxidation therapy, Heroic therapy, High-dose chemotherapy, High pH therapy, Hippotherapy, Home infusion therapy, Hormonal therapy, Hormone-replacement therapy, Hydrogen peroxide therapy, Hypnotherapy, Hypnotic psychotherapy, Image aversion therapy, Immunoaugmentive therapy, Immunosuppressive therapy, Immunotherapy, IMRT, Induction therapy, Information therapy, Injection sclerotherapy, Integrative therapy, Interstim® continence-control therapy, Interstitial therapy, Interventional therapy, Intracavitary therapy, Intraoperative radiation therapy, Intrathecal baclofen therapy, Intravesicular therapy, Iron-chelation therapy, Laser therapy, Laughter therapy, Leukemia therapy, Life-extending therapy, Light therapy, Lipid therapy, Local therapy, Low-flow oxygen therapy, Magnet therapy, Magnetotherapy, Maintenance drug therapy, Maintenance therapy, Malariotherapy, Management, Massage therapy, Maternal blood clot patch therapy, Mechanotherapy, Medical fetal therapy, Megavitamin therapy, Mobilization therapy, Monopolar/electrohydrothermal coagulation therapy, Monotherapy, Movement therapy, Multimodal therapy, Myeloablative therapy, Myelosuppressive therapy, Myofascial release therapy, Neoadjuvant therapy, Nicotine replacement therapy, Nutritional therapy, Ocular photodynamic therapy, Open therapy, Oral chelation therapy, Oral rehydration therapy, Oxidative therapy, Ozone therapy, Palliative therapy, Patch therapy, Pet therapy, Photochemotherapy, Photodynamic therapy, Phototherapy, Physical therapy, Physiotherapy, Play therapy, Polarity therapy, Postural therapy, Preventive therapy, Pranic therapy, Psychotherapy, Preemptive therapy, Preemptive chemotherapy, Pressure point therapy, Prophylactic antibiotic therapy, Psychotherapy, PUVA therapy, Quality of life therapy, Radiation therapy, Radioimmunotherapy, Radiotherapy, Reconstructive therapy, Recreational therapy, Remission induction therapy, Reperfusion therapy, Respiratory therapy, REST, RIGS®/ACT therapy, Rogerian therapy, St John's neuromuscular therapy, Sclerotherapy, Sensory therapy, Shot therapy, Single-drug therapy, Steam inhalation therapy, Stem-cell therapy, Step-down therapy, Strain-counterstrain therapy, Stress therapy, Subliminal therapy, Suicide gene therapy, Surfactant replacement therapy, Superovulation therapy, Supplemental therapy, Supportive therapy, Synvisc® injection therapy, Systemic therapy, Third-line therapy, Thrombolytic therapy, TIL therapy, Topical chemotherapy, Topical immunotherapy, Treatment, Tremor control therapy, Trigger point injection therapy, Triple therapy, Ultrasound therapy, Vaccine therapy, Virtual reality exposure therapy, Vision therapy, Water-based therapy, Water-induced thermotherapy, Water therapy, Zone therapy.
1. Systematic treatment of a disease, dysfunction, or disorder.
See also: therapeutics
See also: therapeutics
2. psychiatry, clinical psychology Psychotherapy.
See also: psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis
See also: psychotherapy, psychiatry, psychology, psychoanalysis
[G. therapeia, medical treatment]
therapyTreatment of disease or of conditions supposed to be diseases. The term is often qualified to limit its range, as in CHEMOTHERAPY, PHYSIOTHERAPY, PSYCHOTHERAPY, RADIOTHERAPY, HYDROTHERAPY and HYPNOTHERAPY.
n method used to cure an illness.
therapy localization,
n revealing of emotional aspects of a physical dysfunction by simultaneously testing an indicator muscle with its asso-ciated emotional neuromuscular reflex(es).
therapies, being,
n.pl in holistic nursing, therapeutic approaches that involve one's sense of peace and awareness. The patient may use prayer, meditation, quiet contemplation, and imagery.
therapies, doing,
n.pl in holistic nursing, directed therapeutic ap-proach that involves several con-ventional medicine techniques, such as traditional procedures, medications, and surgery with a specific goal or outcome.
therapies, elimination,
n.pl in Ayurveda, the processes that patients undergo at the end of the day's treatment that serve to eliminate impurities, which have been loosened during the therapies. See also anu and naruha.
therapies, expressive,
n.pl ap-proaches where expressive arts are employed to promote awareness, healing, and growth.
therapies, five-sense,
n.pl in Ayurveda, the fundamental treatments for restoring imbalances of the doshas. The therapies include diet and herbs (taste), color therapies (sight), mantras (hearing), aromatherapy (smell), and massage (touch), all of which are prescribed to balance dosha(s). Meditation is the therapy for what is considered the sixth sense, the mind. See also doshas, mantras.
therapies, mind-body,
n.pl therapies such as hypnosis, visual imagery, yoga, relaxation, and meditation, in which the mind and body are used in conjunction to assist or catalyze the healing process.
therapies, mind-body-spirit,
n.pl therapeutic modalities that involve body postures, breathing, movement, prayer, and/or meditation to facilitate relaxation and awareness of mental, emotional, and spiritual states.
therapies, Native American,
n.pl various traditional and modern herbal treatments and ceremonies used to address physical complaints and psychospiritual maladies.
therapies, nature-based,
n.pl techniques that use nature-based animals or plants that reconnect patients to the natural environment and its rhythms to improve and hasten healing and improve quality of life.
therapy, adjuvant (aˑ·j·vnt theˑ·r·pē),
n the use of one therapy to boost or enhance the effect of another, See also compatible.
therapy, alleviation (·lēˈ·vē·āˑ·shn theˑ·r·pē),
n in Ayurveda, the use of sesame oil or castor oil to remove vata, butter or ghee to remove pitta, and honey to remove kapha. See also dosha, vata, pitta, and kapha.
therapy, animal-assisted,
n technique in which animals are brought into contact with patients who are recovering; provides touch, builds connection, empathy, and enjoyment.
therapy, antihomotoxic,
n therapeutic method that elimates toxins via combination homeopathic remedies. See also homotoxicology and toxin.
therapy, antiretroviral (ART) (anˈ·tī·reˈ·trō·vīˑ·rl theˑ·r·pē),
n a combination drug treatment used to suppress HIV virus levels and activity in AIDS patients. See also HAART.
therapy, aura-soma (ōrˈ·-sōˑ·m theˑ·r·pē),
n a structured color therapy involving interpretation of the patient's choice of four out of 101 dual-colored bottles containing herbal extracts and essential oils ("Equilibrium oils"). The contents of the chosen bottle are applied to the skin. Also called
aura-soma color therapy.
aura-soma color therapy.
therapy, autogenic,
n mental health therapy in which the patient concentrates on selected verbal stimuli to reach a self-induced state of relaxation. Used in pain management, panic attacks, control of nausea, and vomiting resulting from chemotherapy or radiation therapy. Not advised for patients with acute psychoses or personality disorder. See also biofeedback.
therapy, autohemic,
n therapy that involves treating a patient with nosodes prepared from the patient's blood sample or a pooled sample from several patients. Occasionally the patient's blood is mixed with homeopathic potencies before admini-stration. Also called
autosanguine therapy.
autosanguine therapy.
therapy, autologous blood (ô·tolˑ··gs bludˑ theˑ·r·pē),
n practice of removing blood from the veins and injecting it into the muscles of the same individual to treat persistent ailments. Has been used for psoriasis, eczema, and asthma. Possible side effects include infection, bruising, and pain.
therapy, autoregulatory,
n therapeutic method that stimulates the patient's innate ability to heal, as when a healing touch removes blockages or constrictions within the body's energy flow. Therapy that frees the body to heal itself. See also medicine, natural.
therapy, bee-sting,
n the use of venom derived from bees for medicinal purposes; used in the treatment of skin, pulmonary, rheumatologic, cardiovascular, pulmonary, sensory, psychological, and endocrine conditions. It has also been used to treat bacterial and viral infections; administered by a variety of methods. Persistent nodular lesions and allergic reactions are a concern. Also called
therapy, bee venom and
therapy, bee venom and
therapy, behavior,
n branch of psychotherapy that emphasizes modifying specific behaviors. Sessions include analysis of a behavior and devising ways to change it to a more desirable response.
therapy, behavioral music,
n therapy that uses music to affect nonmusical behavior; developed from behavior modification theory to facilitate social and cognitive learning and operant conditioning.
therapy, biodynamic (bīˈ·ō·dī·namˑ ik theˑ·r·pē),
n pr. a mind-body–integrated therapy developed by Gerda Boyesen, a Norwegian physiotherapist; uses a variety of methods such as massage, talking, sensory awareness, and meditation to refresh the body. Also called the
Gerda Boyesen technique or
biodynamic psychology.
Gerda Boyesen technique or
biodynamic psychology.
therapy, biofield,
n any healing practice that addresses the patient's biofield, uses the biofield of the practitioner, or a combination of both. See also biofield, reiki, and therapeutic touch.
therapy, biological,
n a therapeutic modality that uses the biological response modifier, part of the body's immune system, to fight disease and infection or to protect from the side effects of other treatments. Also called
biological response modifier therapy, biotherapy, BRM therapy, or
biological response modifier therapy, biotherapy, BRM therapy, or
therapy, Block integrative nutritional (blôkˑ inˑ·t·grāˈ·tiv nōō·triˑ·sh·nl theˑ·r·pē),
n a dietary system, developed by Keith Block, MD, that recommends 50% to 70% complex carbohydrates, 10% to 25% percent fat, and the remaining percentage as protein in the diet. The primary objective of this regimen is decreasing and subsequently removing dairy, refined sugars, and meat from one's diet while increasing the number of calories from complex carbohydrates such as vegetables, whole grains, and fruits. Also called
therapy, body-oriented,
n form of psychotherapy that holds that emotions are encoded in the body as areas of restriction and tension; movement, breathing, and manual therapy are used to release such emotions.
therapy, breathing biofeedback,
n a biofeedback therapy in which sensors are placed on the patient's abdomen and chest to observe and measure the rhythm, location, volume, and rate of airflow by which the patient learns deep abdominal breathing; used for respiratory conditions, hyperventilation, asthma, and anxiety.
therapy, Callahan Techniques-thought field (CT-TFT),
n.pr developed by clinical psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan, therapy that draws on specific energy meridian points in a particular progression in order to eliminate the cause of negative emotions, as well as their effects on health.
therapy, Cancell,
n an unconventional cancer treatment containing sodium sulfite, potassium hydroxide, nitric acid, sulfuric acid, and catechol.
therapy, cell,
n a treatment for cancer in which embryonic animal cells from tissues or organs corresponding to those with the cancer are injected into the cancer patient, with the understanding that these healthy cells are incorporated into the organ, thus repairing or replacing the cancerous cells. This treatment may have side effects, including infections, serious immune responses to the foreign proteins in the cells, and death. Since 1984 the FDA has banned the importation of all injectable cell-therapy materials. Also called
cellular suspensions, cellular therapy, embryonic cell therapy, fresh cell therapy, glandular therapy, live cell therapy, organotherapy, or
sicca cell therapy.
cellular suspensions, cellular therapy, embryonic cell therapy, fresh cell therapy, glandular therapy, live cell therapy, organotherapy, or
sicca cell therapy.
therapy, Cell Specific Cancer,
n.pr a treatment used for cancer, offered in the Dominican Republic, in which the client is exposed to a donut-shaped magnetic device (with an electromagnetic field weaker than in MRI) that allegedly reduces the cancer burden (i.e., destroys enough cancer cells) so that the immune system can take care of the remainder.
therapy, chelation (kē·lāˑ·shn theˑ·r·pē),
n 1., removal of heavy metals, such as lead, iron, and mercury, through the use of chelating agents, usually given intravenously.
2., the purported removal of heavy metals, plaque, and other toxins through intravenous infusion of EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), a synthetic amino acid and chelating agent.
2., the purported removal of heavy metals, plaque, and other toxins through intravenous infusion of EDTA (ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid), a synthetic amino acid and chelating agent.
therapy, cognitive,
n treatment that seeks to change behavior (i.e., habits) by addressing the underlying beliefs that drive the behaviors. Comparable to and often used in concert with behavioral therapy.
therapy, cognitive behavioral,
n psychotherapeutic approach used to alter thinking and behavior.
therapy, cold laser,
n treatment with lasers made from helium-neon or gallium aluminum arsenide and used to treat a host of neurologic problems including carpal tunnel syndrome, migraines, arthritis, vertigo, and soft tissue injuries. Also called
low-level light therapy (LLLT).
low-level light therapy (LLLT).
therapy, colon,
n the use of professionally administered whole-bowel enemas combined with analysis of fecal chemistry, evaluation of environmental and psychologic factors in the patient's life, and regular exercise to maintain bowel health. Based on the belief that the health of the colon is directly related to the health of the whole body and that poor colon health can manifest as a variety of illnesses. Also called
colonic hydrotherapy or
colonic irrigation.
colonic hydrotherapy or
colonic irrigation.
therapy, color,
n the use of color, particularly in interior furnishings and decoration, to help relieve phy-sical and psychologic problems by rectifiying imbalances in the energy flow of the body. See also feng shui.
therapy, complementary,
n 1., any remedy paired with another.
2., treatment used in conjunction with and integrated with traditional Western medicine. This type of therapy is contrasted with alternative medicine, which is used independently of conventional medicine. See also therapy, adjuvant; medicine, complementary; and medicine, conventional.
2., treatment used in conjunction with and integrated with traditional Western medicine. This type of therapy is contrasted with alternative medicine, which is used independently of conventional medicine. See also therapy, adjuvant; medicine, complementary; and medicine, conventional.
therapy, cranial manipulative,
n treatment of the tissues and fluids of the skull to correct body rhythms and induce self-healing.
therapy, craniosacral,
n the practice of using one's hands to assess the rhythms of the tissues and fluids in the skull area and to direct those rhythms into healthful patterns. A version of cranial osteopathy sometimes conducted by nondoctors, including massage therapists and physical therapists.
therapy, creative arts,
n the integration of artistic abilities into therapy to alleviate patients' suffering. Activities include but are not limited to drawing, painting, dancing, poetry writing, singing, and gardening.
therapy, creative music,
n therapeutic use of improvisational music to encourage stimulation and development of "musical intelligence," confidence, and self-actualization. Psychodynamic and humanistic theories are often used. Also called
Nordoff-Robbins improvisational music therapy.
Nordoff-Robbins improvisational music therapy.
therapy, crystal,
n the use of quartz crystal energy with a person's energy to facilitate a cascade of spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical changes simultaneously or following a hierarchy of cure.
therapy, dance,
n integrative movement therapy that encourages awareness, feeling, and enhanced self-esteem. See also authentic movement.
therapy, desensitization,
n therapy used for the prevention of serious allergic responses, in which the patient is regularly injected with increasing doses of a purified allergen to reduce the sensitivity of the immune system to that allergen.
therapy, detoxification,
n a collection of various means for detoxification, including chelation, colonic irrigation, fasting, herbal cleansing, and nutritional cleansing. These treatments are intended to help the body's natural eliminative functions. See also chelation therapy, colon therapy, and fasting.
therapy, Di Bella,
n.pr method used for cancer treatment that employs substances such as bromocriptine, melatonin, and retinoid solution.
therapy, differentiation,
n cancer treatment that aims to stimulate cancer cells beyond their undifferentiated state to differentiate like normal cells to halt their uncontrolled proliferation.
therapy, digitalis,
n the use of digitalis glycosides to increase the heart's rate of contractions and speed. This protocol can decrease the conduction speed of the atrioventricular node and create negative dromotropy, thus leading to heartbeat irregularities.
therapy, distraction,
therapy, drainage,
n purging of toxins by means of low potency dosages of homeopathic remedies related to the afflicted organs. See also therapy, antihomotoxic; organ affinity; and organotherapy.
therapy, EDTA,
n technique that employs intravenous transfusions containing disodium EDTA (ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid) to remove minerals, toxins, and other substances from the blood and vessels. No known risks if used properly. Also called
therapy, electrodermal activity (i·lekˈ·trō·derˑ·ml ak·tiˑ·vi·tē theˑ·r·pē),
n procedure for measuring minute amounts of perspiration that would be otherwise too subtle to detect. Sensors are placed on the palms or fingerpads of the patient and the electric current produced measures the skin conductance. Also used to treat hyperhidrosis and anxiety.
therapy, enzyme,
n treatment system developed by Max Wolf, MD, in the 1930s using orally ingested enzymes derived from animals and plants to address enzyme deficiency and several illnesses.
therapy, equine,
n treatment of mental and physical conditions through therapeutic interactions (e.g., riding) with horses. Also called
hippotherapy, riding therapy, or
therapeutic riding. See also therapy, animal-assisted.
hippotherapy, riding therapy, or
therapeutic riding. See also therapy, animal-assisted.
therapy, fever,
n induction of fever for healing purposes using herbal, biological, or mechanical (e.g., hot baths) preparations. Also called
therapy, finger pulse,
n biofeedback therapy in which the rate and force of the pulse are measured and used for controlling anxiety, hyperten-sion, cardiac arrhythmia, and other conditions.
therapy, flotation (flō·tāˑ·shn theˑ·r·ë),
n method used in transpersonal medicine that allows an individual to attain altered states of consciousness by facilitating flotation in a saline-filled tank while sound and light are diminished or eliminated to effect physic and psychologic isolation. See also medicine, transpersonal.
therapy, frequency,
n the use of specific high-frequency oscillations to destroy pathogenic organisms or cancerous cells and restore health. Also called
energoinformational therapy or
Rife frequency therapy.
energoinformational therapy or
Rife frequency therapy.
therapy, gem,
n See healing, crystal.
therapy, gene,
n therapy in which genes are introduced into the patient in order to cure or treat a disease. Also called
somatic cell gene therapy.
somatic cell gene therapy.
therapy, Gerson,
n.pr an unorthodox anticancer treatment that includes a diet that comprises vegetables and fruits with nutritional supplements, liver extract injections, and coffee enemas.
therapy, Gestalt,
n.pr a method of humanistic psychotherapy that examines the present emotions of the patient without consideration to the past to gain a new level of self-awareness. Instead of explaining the meaning of these emotions, the therapist works with the patient to elucidate his or her own understanding of these feelings.
therapy, Gestalt art,
n.pr a group-oriented, process-driven form of art therapy created by Janie Rhyne and based on the humanistic Gestalt psychology of Fritz Perls.
therapy, glandular,
n a treatment in which tissue extracts of organs such as spleen, thymus, adrenal glands, or liver are used orally to help with a number of conditions, including asthma, autoimmune diseases, cancer, chronic fatigue, cystic fibrosis, eczema, inflammatory diseases, low white cell count, psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, and other conditions.
therapy, group,
n a form of therapy wherein people meet with each other and a therapist in order to interact and discuss their problems.
therapy, hallucinogen (h·lōōˑ·si·nō·jin theˑ·r·pē),
n therapy that uses lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) to decrease dependence on drugs such as alcohol or cocaine.
therapy, heat,
n use of heat on all or part of the body to encourage hyperemia, increase circulation, facilitate sweating, and relax muscles. Used in sports and rehabilitation medicine and as a cancer treatment.
therapy, homotoxic (hōˈ·m·tôkˑ·sik theˑ·r·pē),
n a form of homeopathy in which the same substance that causes an illness is also used to treat the symptoms. Also called
homeopathy, autoisopathy, and
homeopathy, autoisopathy, and
therapy, hormone replacement,
n a method for treating symptoms of menopause, such as hot flashes, decreased sexual desire, vaginal dryness, sleep disorders, and mood swings by using estrogen alone or in combination with progestin.
therapy, horticultural,
n a subcategory of nature-assisted therapy focused on gardening and horticultural activities for therapeutic benefits.
therapy, humor,
n a means of enhancing a patient's ability to recognize, express, and enjoy humor. Used to help patients learn, express anger, relieve tensions, or manage painful emotions. See also therapy, laughter.
therapy, hyperbaric oxygen (hīˈ·per·beˑ·rik okˑ·s·jin theˑ·r·pē),
n therapeutic use of highly pressurized oxygen in the treatment of clostridial myonecrosis, osteoradionecrosis, skin graft healing, stroke rehabilitation, and other conditions.
therapy, hyperoxygenation,
n a cancer treatment based on the belief that hypoxia and resulting anaerobic metabolism promote the growth of cancerous cells. In these therapies, the patient is treated with oxygenating agents, such as germanium sesquioxide, hydrogen peroxide, or ozone. Germanium compounds can have lethal nephrotoxicity. Also called
bio-oxidative therapy or
oxidative therapy.
bio-oxidative therapy or
oxidative therapy.
therapy, hyperthermia (hīˈ·per·therˑ·mē·),
n the use of heat either systemically or locally.
therapy, immunoaugmentive (IAT) (iˈ·my·nō·ôg·menˑ·tiv theˑ·r·pē),
n Developed by Dr. Lawrence Burton, an alternative adjunctive treatment for cancer, uses four separate blood proteins and proposes improvement in immune system functioning as its mechanism.
therapy, insight-oriented,
n psychotherapy based upon the idea that behaviors have their roots in a client's family dynamics, instinctual drives, childhood development, and genetic traits. Therapy in this vein consists of delving into these areas for information resulting in treatment of disorders.
therapy, Irlen lens,
n.pr a treatment for scotopic sensitivity, a condition of "perceptual stress" accompanying autism and some learning disorders. In this therapy, the patient wears lenses that have been tinted to a specific color to minimize or eliminate their sensitivity.
therapy, Jacobson's Progressive Relaxation,
n.pr a method of relaxation in which undesirable muscle tension, even if barely detectable, is systematically identified and relaxed. The eventual goal is for a state in which all undesirable tension is eliminated.
therapy, juice,
n juices of raw fruits and vegetables administered to detoxify and provide easily assimilated concentrated nutrition.
therapy, Kelley/Gonzalez metabolic,
n.pr cancer treatments involving dietary modifications, detoxification through coffee enemas, and nutritional and enzymatic supplementation (the Kelley variant also includes neurologic stimulation through cranial or spinal manipulation and biblically-based prayer). The treatments are tailored for each patient based on a computerized method of metabolic typing (Kelley) or analysis of the hair and blood (Gonzalez).
therapy, Kneipp,
n See Kneippkur.
therapy, Koryo hand (kōr·yō),
n.pr Korean microsystem of hand acupuncture that views the hand as a map for the whole body and the meridians. In this system, the middle finger is analogous to the midline of the body; the adjacent fingers represent the arms and the thumb and little finger as the legs. The posterior of the body corresponds to the dorsal surface of the hand, and the anterior corresponds to the palmar surface. Stimulation methods for these regions include pressure pellets, needles, rings, moxa, and fingertip pressure.
therapy, laughter,
n the use of laughter as an aid in enhancing the patient's psychologic state. See also therapy, humor.
therapy, light,
n a therapeutic modality in which disease is treated with light. The light may be natural (i.e., full-spectrum) or of specific wavelengths (e.g., colored light, low-intensity lasers, ultraviolet light). See also therapy, photodynamic and phototherapy.
therapy, low-energy emission,
n treatment for insomnia in which electromagnetic fields (low amplitude–modulated) are applied directly to oral mucosa by means of a mouthpiece.
therapy, low-level light (LLLT),
n treatment that employs lasers made from helium-neon or gallium aluminum; used to treat a host of neurological problems including carpal tunnel syndrome, migraines, arthritis, vertigo, and soft tissue injuries. Also called
therapy, cold laser.
therapy, cold laser.
therapy, magnetic,
n therapeutic application of magnets placed on the surface of the skin.
therapy, magnetic field (mag·neˑ·tik fēld' theˑ·r·pē),
n technique in which magnets are placed on the body to treat a variety of conditions.
therapy, manner metabolic,
n.pr See therapy, metabolic.
therapy, manual,
n physical approaches in complementary medicine including but not limited to body work, chiropractic, tui na, and shiatsu. Therapies range from basic manual manipulations derived from osteopathy, reiki, and qi gong to energy work.
therapy, marma (märˑ·m theˑ·r·pē),
n in Ayurveda, massage therapy used to heal certain illnesses related to muscles, ligaments, and the nervous system. See also marmas.
therapy, medical art,
n the use and making of art by patients who are physically sick or undergoing chemotherapy, radical surgery, or living with trauma to their bodies; therapeutically assists patients to process pain and death, and also facilitates restoration of health.
therapy, megavitamin,
n See medicine, orthomolecular.
therapy, meridian,
n a therapeutic approach that involves palpation of the acupuncture meridian systems; includes the extraordinary meridians or secondary vessels.
therapy, metabolic,
n a treatment for cancer and other serious illnesses; regards the build-up of toxins as the primary cause of chronic, degenerative diseases. Specific treatments vary but typically include enemas, wholes food diets, nutritional supplementation, laetrile, and glandular extracts.
therapy, microwave-resonance,
n a technique that uses specific, low-intensity radiation in the microwave range to improve a variety of medical conditions. Used to treat arthritis, cerebral palsy, chronic pain, esopha-gitis, hypertension, neurologic disorders, and side effects of chemotherapy.
therapy, milieu (mil·yōōˑ theˑ·r·pē),
n in psychiatry, treatment that involves manipulating a patient's environment for therapeutic reasons.
therapy, monopolar direct current,
n a treatment performed within a doctor's office that uses electrical current to shrink tissues. Used to treat hemorrhoids and other conditions.
therapy, movement,
n any form of physical activity used to produce a therapeutic effect in the patient, such as exercise, dance, yoga, or martial arts.
therapy, music,
n See therapy, creative music.
therapy, nature-assisted,
n a therapy that uses plants, natural materials, and environment to hasten healing and improve the quality of life.
therapy, neural (nyurˑ·l theˑ·r·pē),
n method of treatment in which an anesthetic is injected into painful areas to effect pain relief from chronic conditions.
therapy, neuroelectric (nerˈ·ō··lekˑ·trik theˑ·r·pē),
n electrical stimulation of the mastoid region with low-level alternating current through surface electrodes. Used as a treatment for insomnia. Also called
therapy, nondirective,
n professional counseling style marked by an atmosphere of help and assistance between therapist and client.
therapy, nutritional,
n therapy based on the idea that an individual's health is directly related to his or her diet and nutrient intake.
therapy, oral antigen,
n a method of treatment for multiple sclerosis that involves administering myelin basic protein orally. See also multiple sclerosis.
therapy, orthomolecular psychiatric (ōrˈ·thō·m·lekˑ·y·ler sīˈ·kē·aˑ·trik theˑ·r·pē),
n psychiatric treatment that provides optimal concentrations of nutrients, such as vitamins and essential fatty acids. Low con-centrations in the brain of these substances are thought to cause symptoms of mental illness.
therapy, oxygen (äksˑ··jin theˑ·r·pē),
n process that administers oxygen by face mask or hyperbaric chamber to relieve hypoxia associated with a variety of conditions. Possible risks include toxicity, infection, and embolism. See also therapy, hyperbari cand embolism.
therapy, ozone (ōˑ·zōn theˑ·r·pē),
n treatment that involves injecting the body with ozone or hydrogen peroxide to treat cancer, HIV/AIDS, and other degenerative conditions. Risks include infection, embolism, and hemolysis.
therapy, peloid,
n treatment in which pulp (usually from lake or sea mud, peat, or other plants) is applied to the body for its therapeutic benefits.
therapy, pet,
n treatment involving contact between a patient and pet (i.e., dog, cat, etc.).
therapy, phage,
n treatment which uses viruses that attack only bacteria; attempts to rid the body of pathogens. Advantages of phages over antibiotics include their ability to increase in numbers and spread throughout the body as well as their potential to attack antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
therapy, photodynamic (fōˈ·tō·dī·naˑ·mik theˑ·r·pē),
n form of light therapy that involves injection of irradiated pigments into tissues that are then irradiated further with certain light frequencies designed to destroy cancer cells or change conditions like macular degeneration.
therapy, poetry,
n reading and/or composing poetry with the intention of affecting therapeutic change or personal development. Promotes creativity, imagination, spontaneity, appreciation of beauty, and expression of emotion. See also bibliotherapy.
therapy, polarity (pō·larˑ·i·tē theˑ·r·pē),
n approach developed by Randolph Stone; combines Eastern and Western energy modalities to release the blockages underlying disease and restore homeostasis.
therapy, positional release,
n See strain/counterstain.
therapy, psychodynamic (sīˈ·k·dī·naˑ·mik theˑ·r·pē),
n emotional healing method derived from psychoanalysis, the goal of which is assisting patients to identify and settle conflicts that began in childhood and remain unresolved.
therapy, pulsed electromagnetic field,
n a healing technique in which a small, electronic device that delivers weak pulse signals is used to speed healing.
therapy, purification,
n See Panchakarma.
therapy, reconstructive,
n injection treatment for arthritis that delivers nutritional substances into the tissues surrounding the joint to increase fibroblast activity.
therapy, reflex zone,
n a method of manipulative therapy applying touch to the back, feet, hands, or head to elicit therapeutic changes in reflected tissues and organs. Also called
RZT. See also reflexology.
RZT. See also reflexology.
therapy, regenerative injection,
n See sclerotherapy.
therapy, rejuvenation,
n in Ayurveda, the use of specific activities, herbs, and foods for the purpose of preventing the aging process and promoting longevity.
therapy, relaxation,
n a set of techniques designed to calm the body and mind to produce relaxation in response to stressful situations. Meditation, progressive relaxation, prayer, biofeedback, and self-hypnosis are common examples.
therapy, release,
n therapeutic approach used in pediatric psychotherapy to treat children affected with anxiety and stress that is associated with a particular recent event.
therapy, restricted environmental stimulation,
n sensory-deprivation procedure designed to produce a nonreactive state and stimulate healing.
therapy, SHEN,
n a modern version of ancient hands-on healing techniques in which a practitioner works to facilitate normal flow of energy by applying light pressure to specific areas of the body. Used to relieve chronic pain and dissipate psychological distress and emotional blockage.
therapy, single remedy,
n in homeopathy, treatment that uses a remedy that contains only one ingredient that most closely matches the individual's profile of symptoms.
therapy, sleep restriction,
n a treatment for sleep disorders in which the patient spends only as much time in bed as is necessary for sleep (e.g., a person who only sleeps four hours every night would only be in bed for four hours, instead of tossing and turning for four hours and sleeping for four). Restriction of bed time is believed to increase the amount of the actual sleep time.
therapy, spinal manual,
n encompasses a host of hands-on processes employed by chiropractors to correct spinal misalignments that are often the source of common complaints such as neck pain, back pain, and headaches. Also called
therapy, step,
n process in which a patient is first treated with an inexpensive treatment that works for the majority of patients with that particular complaint. If that treatment fails, the patient is stepped up to a more powerful and/or expensive treatment.
therapy, stimulus control,
n a treatment for sleep disorders in which the bed and bedroom are associated solely with sleeping and, if applicable, sex. If the patient is not asleep within a set time, he or she is to leave the bedroom and not return until he or she is sleepy. Regular waking times are also emphasized, regardless of the amount of sleep obtained during the night.
therapy, supportive,
n branch of psychotherapy aimed at treating individuals in crisis situations. The focus is on developing tools to cope with overwhelming situations.
therapy, symptomatic (simp·t·maˑ·tik theˑ·r·pē),
n 1., therapy aimed at treating the symptoms of a condition.
2., form of acupuncture in which needles are inserted near or surrounding the area of complaint. Differs from typical acupuncture because classic acupuncture points are not used.
2., form of acupuncture in which needles are inserted near or surrounding the area of complaint. Differs from typical acupuncture because classic acupuncture points are not used.
therapy, systems,
n branch of psychotherapy with an emphasis on resolving relationship problems. Based on theory that individuals act within the family system as a whole.
therapy, thermal biofeedback,
n biofeedback that measures the temperature of the skin to index blood flow changes as the vessels dilate and constrict.
therapy, thought field (TFT),
n form of therapy used to treat psychologic problems in which the client taps on his own energy meridian points in a particular and distinct progression while recalling painful memories, thus alleviating negative emotions and the related ill effects on the client's health. TFT was developed by clinical psychologist Dr. Roger Callahan. Also called
Callahan Techniques thought field therapy.
Callahan Techniques thought field therapy.
therapy, traditional Chinese dietary,
n in traditional Chinese medicine, therapeutic approach that involves the consumption of specific foods to treat specific illnesses. Often done without consulting with a practitioner.
therapy, viral,
n the approach of using viruses genetically modified to transmit genetic material to specific sites.
therapy, virilization,
n See vajikarana.
therapy, Zoetron,
n.pr See therapy, cell specific cancer.
therapy, zone,
n a therapeutic scheme that divides the body into ten vertically interconnected segments, or zones, with an understanding that tension or blockage in one part of a zone is reflected in the zone as a whole.
Treatment of disease or disorder by any method.
Synonym(s): therapeusis (2) .
Synonym(s): therapeusis (2) .
[G. therapeia, medical treatment]
the treatment of disease; therapeutics. See also treatment.
animal-assisted therapy
the treatment of humans, usually for mental or psychological illness, which incorporates familiarization with a companion or pleasure animal. Called also pet-facilitated or pet-assisted therapy. See also animal facilitated therapy.
anticoagulant therapy
the use of drugs to render the blood sufficiently incoagulable to discourage thrombosis.
heat therapy
see hyperthermia (2).
immunosuppressive therapy
treatment with agents, such as x-rays, corticosteroids and cytotoxic chemicals, which suppress the immune response to antigen(s); used in organ transplantation, autoimmune disease, allergy, multiple myeloma, etc.
inhalation therapy
see aerosol.
neoadjuvant therapy
given before the primary treatment, such as chemotherapy, hormone therapy, radiation therapy.
oxygen therapy
the administration of supplemental oxygen to relieve hypoxemia and prevent damage to the tissue cells as a result of oxygen lack (hypoxia). See also oxygen therapy.
physical therapy
use of physical agents and methods in rehabilitation and restoration of normal bodily function after illness or injury; it includes massage and manipulation, therapeutic exercises, hydrotherapy, and various forms of energy (electrotherapy, actinotherapy and ultrasound). See also physical therapist.
radiation therapy
treatment of disease by means of ionizing radiation. See also radiotherapy.
replacement therapy
treatment to replace deficient formation or loss of body products by administration of the natural body products or synthetic substitutes.
serum therapy
serotherapy; treatment of disease by injection of serum from immune animals.
substitution therapy
the administration of a hormone to compensate for glandular deficiency.
vaporization therapy
see aerosol.
Patient discussion about therapy
Q. What is the Treatment for Anemia? I would like to know what are the possible treatments for anemia?
A. The first step in treating anemia, is discovering the cause for it. By a series of simple blood tests it is easy to discover iron defficiency, folic acid defficiency and vitamin B12 defficiency anemia, all which can be treated with oral supplements or a change of nutrition. Anemia that is associated with rectal bleeding should be further investigated, because it is often the first sign of colon polyps or colon cancer. Colonoscopy is then recommended.
Q. What Is the Treatment for Dysentery? My son has been suffering from dysentery as of this morning. What is the recommended treatment?
A. Dysentery treatment should include both proper fluid intake to regain the volume that has lost, and proper medications to treat the possible causes- bacterial or parasite infection. Viral infections usually do not cause dysentery. At any signs of dehydration, it is important to seek medical care.
Q. Does omega-3 interfere with diabetes treatment? I'm a 55 years old man, and was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, along with high lipid levels several years ago. A couple of months ago I read that omega-3 can protect your heart and brain, so I started to take omega-3 pills every day. Yesterday I read in some website that omega-3 can interfere with the drugs I take to treat my diabetes- Is that right?
A. Omega-3 doesn't influence the treatment of your diabetes, and since you have high lipids, that can contribute to some of the damage diabetes does to your body, omega-3, that may lower the lipid level in your may actually help you treat yourself overall better. However - consult your doctor. Better be safe than sorry...More discussions about therapy


text:
Since moving to Boston last year and shooting at Boston Fashion Week, I've wanted to meet fashion photographer Tracy Aiguier, who I'd heard so much about. Yesterday, I was lucky to meet her at the Museum of Fine Arts for her fashion photography demonstration.
Tracy went through a series of four fashion shoots with models. All the looks sported were from the School of Fashion Design - we loved the LBD with the pockets designed by the model who sported the look herself!
Lighting techniques varied from soft boxes to a massive parabolic to some back lighting to enhance the clothing's texture and detail. Tracy also invited volunteers to come up and try their hand at a few shots (and with some persuading from Lei Ann, I did - thank you Lei Ann (on duty) for capturing me in action!)
It was so nice to hear Tracy speak about her love for fashion and photography, how some things have changed in the industry with the rise of digital formats (cameras, iPhones, Instagram), young people who shoot for free and how sometimes it doesn't matter how you get the shot as long as you get it, which is something I believe in, myself.
It was a terrific demo at the MFA, thanks Tracy! And it was nice to see some familiar faces like Jay Calderin, Eric Levin, and to hang out with friends Lei Ann, Nicolle and Helena.
Tracy Aiguier will be doing another fashion photography demo on Wednesday November 14 from 5:30pm-8pm at the Druker Family Pavilion, and if you're going to the MFA, be sure to check out the Mario Testino exhibit while you're there!
Jay Calderin takes a photo of the team for this.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
In addition to living the life of my dreams by fighting tyranny through the power of words and ideas here at this blog, I want to start helping others to do the same thing by offering professional, but affordable consulting and web design services.
For a great example of my work, take a look at the Left Coast Rebel's newly-redesigned and rebranded blog:
"The Rebel" runs a really great blog. I'm amazed at how dedicated he is at hitting away with a constant, never-ending stream of new, up-to-date content. He also has a lively and loyal following of great readers and other bloggers. His blog is more than a website, it's a true community.
But he and his readers were definitely not getting the most out of all that hard work. The sidebar was cluttered and difficult to navigate. The page took ages to load, and sometimes nearly crashed my browser, preventing me from visiting as often as I would have liked.
And while the Rebel knows a lot about politics, he just didn't have the technical or creative knowledge to see how easy it would be to make his blog leaps and bounds better, while getting and creating way more value, and reaching a much larger audience.
That's where I came in, and after spending a lot of time talking to the Rebel about his goals, values, and vision for LeftCoastRebel.com, I designed a new logo and custom buttons to remove a lot of clutter from his sidebar and place it on easily navigable, static pages.
Here's what his readers had to say after the redesign:
-Look's great. Easier to read; quicker to load.
-Mucho faster load time.
-It loads quicker...
-Ditto on the load time. Looks good, very clean.
-It does seem to load faster
-It loads way faster, which is nice and looks good.
-It is clean and simple. I like it.
-Fresh! And I think getting a lot of links off of the front page quickens up the load time.
-this looks really streamlined and fresh!
-Gotta Agree, Rebel, It's much better for all the reasons above.
Great job!
-The new layout looks great.
-Man, this sucker is lightning fast. Good layout. Wow!!
...and the list goes on!
The Absolute Necessity of a Faster Site
Notice how many of the comments remarked on how much faster his blog is after the redesign? Here's why that's important:
From Problogger.net
"If a tree falls in a forest, I don't know if anyone hears it – but when your blog crashes or takes forever to load, I guarantee you nobody is reading.
When you work hard on your content, but aren't able to capitalize on the attention because your blog takes too long to load you are throwing away hours of hard work and thousands of visitors.
When your site is running quickly people don't notice – but if your blog is down or slow, visitors will complain or worse (and much more frequently) just leave.
In fact, if the very first page a visitor sees takes even a second too long to load, they are likely to leave instantly without reading anything – on to the next shiny thing that has caught their interest, and on to someone's blog that is optimized."
Contact me now for a free consultation on your blog
I want to take good conservative and libertarian political blogs and make them better! If you want to get more value out of your blog, whether you are simply trying to spread the message or also plan to turn your blog into a source of revenue, contact me now and tell me about your website.
I would be glad to consult with you for free and give you a price estimate for redesigning and improving your blog. For more information on this and other services and expertise I provide, click the image below:


text:
WASHINGTON — A hunger strike by detainees who have been held for years without trial at the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, has grown to involve at least 25 prisoners, the Defense Department disclosed on Wednesday.
That number includes eight who are being force-fed a nutritional supplement through a hose snaked into their nose while they are restrained in a chair.
There have long been about half a dozen prisoners at Guantanamo who refuse to eat and have been kept alive by force-feeding. But the number refusing meals among the 166-inmate population has recently surged.
According to the military's count, as of March 15 there were 14 officially recognized hunger strikers. That number swelled to 21 by Monday and 24 by Tuesday, and is now at 25, said Captain Robert Durand, a spokesman for the prison. Two have been hospitalized for dehydration, he added.
Lawyers representing some of the detainees in habeas corpus lawsuits, who communicate with them during visits to the island and by phone, said that the number is significantly higher than the official count. The military said it is using criteria developed by the civilian Bureau of Prisons, which generally counts a prisoner who refuses nine straight meals as a hunger striker.
The origins of the hunger strike are disputed. David H. Remes, a lawyer for several Yemeni detainees who were cleared for repatriation years ago but remain imprisoned because of poor security conditions in Yemen, said he was recently told by clients that prison officials had started searching Korans, which inmates considered to be religious desecration, in a way they had not done since 2006.
A group of lawyers representing detainees, including Remes, sent letters on March 4 and March 14 to military officials raising alarm about the strike and asking for attention to alleviate its underlying causes, citing the purported Koran searches and a wider set of ''regressive practices at the prison taking place in recent months, which our clients have described as a return to an older regime at Guantanamo that was widely identified with the mistreatment of detainees.''
Durand, however, said that there had been no change to longstanding procedures for searching the Korans, in which prison translators, who are Muslims, touch the book. In a lengthy statement, he argued that the detainees were coordinating to ''fabricate'' claims of personal or Koran abuse as a tactic for garnering news media attention.
In phone interviews, Remes and Durand largely agreed, however, that a significant underlying condition for the recent unrest was the collapse of hopes that the US government would at some point let them go.
''I think there was great hope that there would be fresh movement, and there was at the beginning'' of the Obama administration four years ago, Durand said. ''But the movement in the last year is not encouraging. I don't dispute that there is frustration over that.''
In 2009, President Obama inherited about 240 detainees from the Bush administration and ordered that the prison be closed by the end of his first year in office. He also established a task force to review each prisoner's case; about half of the remaining inmates were ultimately approved for transfer.
But the effort to wind down the prison collapsed in the face of concerns over the security conditions in the countries where the bulk of the remaining low-level prisoners are from — most notably Yemen — and concerns in Congress about some former detainees who were linked to terrorist activities. Lawmakers have imposed an increasingly steep set of obstacles to additional transfers.
As a result, in 2012 only four prisoners were allowed to leave the island — two as a result of a military commission trial, and two who were ordered freed by a federal judge. A fifth prisoner, who had been repeatedly cleared for repatriation under both the Bush and Obama administrations and was ordered freed by a federal district court judge, only to have that order overturned by an appeals court, apparently committed suicide.


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It's been awhile since I've posted a story about Ike (well, it's been awhile since I've posted anything at all). To be honest, it's hard. All I want to do is talk about Ike. He sits! He yawns! He whines at the door! He cocks his head when I say "laundry"! It's all SO CUTE. But you would stop reading if I posted that kind of stuff everyday. (It's ok, I would stop reading, too.)
But I know you guys love Ike. So I subconsciously created a story for you in the form of an incredibly specific dream two nights ago. Here's what happened:
Ike was stolen from our house. (for real this time)
I woke up one morning and he was gone. There was no sign of breaking and entering, and neither Y nor I heard any strange noises in the middle of the night. We decided to keep vigil by the computer (I mean, where else are you going to do it?). Lucky that we did, because we soon received an e-mail with this picture:
From the fine print of the e-mail we learned that Hallmark decided that Patriot's Day (which is 9/11) was a little too depressing so close to the holiday season. So the execs at Hallmark, with their infinite holiday-inventing-power, decided that September 11th should be International Pet Vacation Day.
(Genius, right? No stealing, Hallmark. This amazing idea is copyright my sleeping brain.)
To get the word out about the new holiday, Hallmark implemented a guerilla marketing campaign: in the middle of the night, they would send a giant claw (much like one of those claw vending machine games) through the roofs of houses, steal family pets and send them away on a luxury vacation. Just when pet owners became frantic, Hallmark would send an electronic greeting card showing the pet having a fabulous time. How they knew each pet's exact dream-vacation, we'll never know. (It's eerie; Ike often speaks of his desire to roll in waves of the Atlantic.)
Shortly after the e-mail was received, Hallmark sent each pet back to their home, tanned and rested and ready to return to the strenuous life of being a furry family member. But I don't remember this part, because I woke up after the e-mail, laughing at myself for thinking up this stuff in my sleep.


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David McCord
Mr. Macklin's Jack O'Lantern
Mr. Macklin takes his knife And carves the yellow pumpkin face: Three holes bring eyes and nose to life, The mouth has thirteen teeth in place. Then Mr. Macklin just for fun Transfers the corn-cob pipe from his Wry mouth to Jack's, and everyone Dies laughing! O what fun it is Till Mr. Macklin draws the shade And lights the candle in Jack's skull. Then all the inside dark is made As spooky and as horrorful As Halloween, and creepy crawl The shadows on the tool-house floor, With Jack's face dancing on the wall. O Mr. Macklin! where's the door?


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Antarctica and Climate Change
Visiting Antarctica is an incredible, almost unearthly, experience. Icebergs bigger than cities. Glaciers with cracks large enough to swallow a football stadium. A floating ice shelf the size of France. An ice cap thicker in some regions than 10 Empire State Buildings stacked on top of each other. Along with the enormity come the extremes: of the seven continents, Antarctica is the coldest, highest, driest, windiest-and of course iciest-place on Earth. Add to that "remotest," and it becomes clear why teasing the climate record out of this vast continent has been a challenge.
Geography and topography are paramount to the existence of the Antarctic ice sheets. Antarctica is positioned over the South Pole, which means it receives less of the Sun's energy over the course of a year than any other continent because of the way Earth is tilted with respect to the Sun. Additionally, about 80 percent of the sunlight that reaches Antarctica is reflected by the icy surface. It is buffered from the rest of the globe by the vast Southern Ocean, which surrounds it with an apron of water and sea ice and which enables a belt of perpetual westerly winds to encircle the continent like a gigantic curtain. The steep topography along much of the Antarctic coastal margins acts as a barrier to intense cyclones that would otherwise transport warm, moist air inland, and thus an immense polar desert-vast and incredibly dry for a place that consists of frozen water-exists in the interior of the continent.
Antarctica's shape is relatively symmetrical compared to other continents-a rough circle with the highest topography located near the middle, sloping down toward the ocean on all sides. The cold, thick ice acts as a heat sink, and the air at the uppermost elevations undergoes the most cooling and becomes denser than the air at lower elevations. In turn, the dense air generates persistent, gravity-driven winds that flow down the sloping terrain to the edges of the continent. Thus, Antarctica itself plays a major role in determining-and perpetuating-its own climate (see map). Yet that climate appears to be changing, and its fate is critical to the rest of the Earth as well.
Three Sheets to the Winds
Antarctica can roughly be divided into three regions: East Antarctica, West Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula (see map). East Antarctica accounts for about 75 percent of the surface area and is slightly larger than the United States. It is covered by the East Antarctic Ice Sheet (EAIS, pronounced to rhyme with "fleece"). EAIS is astounding, reaching a height of more than 4,000 meters at its apex and holding the water equivalent of 60 meters of global sea level. (The deepest ice core on Earth was recently drilled on EAIS at Dome C, yielding an 800,000-year record of climate history.) Like all ice sheets, the total mass of frozen water that makes up EAIS is the result of a balance between the growth of ice due to snowfall, and the loss of ice due to melting at the edges and the calving of icebergs. Changes in the "mass balance" of ice are of great concern to scientists because of the important implications for sea level. If an ice sheet is growing, it tends to lower sea level due to the additional storage of frozen water; if it is shrinking, it tends to raise sea level. Collectively, recent estimates of the mass fluctuations of EAIS suggest that it is approximately in balance.
The Greenland-sized West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS; rhymes with "race") makes up about 20 percent of Antarctica's surface area and stores the frozen water equivalent of six meters of global sea level. Despite being only one-tenth the size of EAIS, WAIS is the ice sheet that has scientists chewing their fingernails. Why? First, the average elevation of WAIS is much lower than EAIS, and thus WAIS is more susceptible to inland penetration by the relentless succession of cyclones that encircle the continent and transport warm, moist air from lower latitudes. If these cyclones become more frequent or more intense, as many climate models project, WAIS may become much warmer.
Second, and more importantly, WAIS is a marine-based ice sheet. Unlike the primarily land-based EAIS, the bottom of WAIS rests below sea level, and therefore ocean water is constantly in contact with the edges of WAIS. Studies of the responses of marine-based ice sheets to past climate fluctuations suggest that they can retreat quickly when ocean temperatures rise because of increased melting at the ocean-ice interface. (The ocean is effective at melting ice because water has a large capacity for storing and conducting heat.) In addition, the ocean water may begin to work its way underneath the base of the ice, which can accelerate melting and lead to greater instability. In recent years, regional ocean warming is thought to be the cause for the acceleration of several of the major glaciers that comprise WAIS due to enhanced melt at their edges. WAIS is shrinking overall and therefore contributing to sea-level rise.
The third region, the Antarctic Peninsula, is a California-sized finger of West Antarctica that projects northward into the Southern Ocean. The Peninsula is about 4 percent of Antarctica and has a milder climate that is strongly influenced by the ocean that surrounds it on three sides. The northern half of the Peninsula spans latitudes analogous to Scandinavia in the Northern Hemisphere, and temperatures frequently reach the melting point during the summer months. The landscape is largely glaciated, and the mountainous spine that defines the northern Peninsula is characterized by alpine glaciers like those found in Norway or Alaska. The volume of ice on the Antarctic Peninsula is small compared to that of WAIS and EAIS. However, due to strong warming and additional factors discussed below, glacial retreat there is widespread and therefore is contributing to sea level rise. Perhaps more alarmingly, recent reports indicate that the pattern of glacial retreat is migrating southward toward continental Antarctica and WAIS.
Temperature Trends
Near-surface temperature trends are a widely used proxy of climate change, in part due to the broad global availability of long-term records. In contrast to widespread increases worldwide, instrumental records, augmented by satellite and computer-modeled records, suggest that annual near-surface temperatures over most of East Antarctica have only changed modestly since the 1950s. Over West Antarctica, where several large glaciers have accelerated during the past decade, the instrumental record of near-surface temperature is poor, and satellite measurements are less reliable because of problems that arise due to the cloudier conditions there.
To fill the gaps, records of oxygen isotopes from newly collected ice cores extracted across the WAIS have been employed to reconstruct West Antarctic temperatures, indicating that the region has probably warmed by 2°C since 1950. What's more, the ice core records show that large temperature fluctuations over West Antarctica are tied to ocean temperatures in the tropics, indicating that the WAIS is much more vulnerable to global climate changes than its higher, drier East Antarctic counterpart. The WAIS warming is consistent with large temperature increases on the adjacent Antarctic Peninsula, where good instrumental records yield highly reliable results. Strong temperature increases of up to 3°C since the 1950s have been among the largest warming signals on Earth. The substantial warming on the Peninsula has been cited as a contributor to the dramatic breakup of a Rhode Island-sized portion of the Larsen B Ice Shelf in 2002, which ocean-bottom sediment records suggest existed for at least the prior 10,000 years.
The uneven pattern of temperature trends over Antarctic land surfaces during the past half-century-muted change at the East Antarctic stations, but strong warming on the Peninsula that extends inland over WAIS-has been attributed partly to a strengthening belt of westerly winds (from the west) that encircles the continent and is called the Southern Hemisphere Annular Mode (SAM; see figure, p.10). This "donut" of winds extends from the surface to more than 20 kilometers aloft. The strength of the winds is determined by the atmospheric temperature gradient (the difference in temperatures) between the middle-and-tropical latitudes and the south polar region. The gradient has increased during certain seasons in recent years, causing the winds to strengthen.
Over East Antarctica, the stronger westerly winds counteract the prevailing winds that drain from the continent and which blow partially eastward due to the rotation of the Earth (the Coriolis effect). The result is weaker near-surface winds. In turn, the weaker winds have less capacity to erode the strong temperature inversion at the Antarctic surface (the layer of very cold air just above the Antarctic ice). The weaker winds cannot mix the relatively warm air above the inversion down toward the surface as effectively as they previously did, and thus the surface of East Antarctica has not warmed as it may have otherwise.
Over the Antarctic Peninsula and WAIS, the impacts of the strengthening westerly winds on near-surface temperatures appear to be more variable compared to EAIS. For example, the SAM has enhanced summer warming on the eastern side of the Peninsula by increasing the occurrences of relatively warm winds that descend from the nearby mountain slopes; on the other hand, it has suppressed warming slightly on the western side, for reasons that are not well understood. Overall, the effect of the SAM on temperature changes over the Antarctic Peninsula and WAIS has been weaker than for EAIS. Thus, other causes also appear to play prominent roles. Recent findings suggest that the heat-trapping effect of increasing greenhouse gases is also contributing to the strong warming on the Antarctic Peninsula.
To determine the cause of recent and future temperature trends in Antarctica it is critical that scientists understand why the latitudinal temperature gradient has increased and in turn strengthened the SAM. This is especially true for EAIS, by far the largest region of Antarctica, and where the SAM has exerted a strong influence on climate variability. Studies using computer models of the atmosphere suggest that the SAM is due partly to human causes, including increases of industrial greenhouse gases and ozone depletion high above Antarctica due to chlorofluorocarbons. The formation of the ozone "hole" over Antarctica each spring decreases the absorption of solar energy and cools the high reaches of the atmosphere that lie poleward of the SAM. Equator-ward of the SAM, the enhanced heat-trapping effect of greenhouse gases has caused net warming in the middle and lower atmosphere. Internal (mainly natural) fluctuations in the climate system, such as ocean temperature oscillations, also play a key role in driving the SAM trends.
Rising Seas
Whether the SAM will continue strengthening in the coming decades is still unknown because the relative importance of greenhouse gases, ozone, and the internal variability of the Antarctic climate system is uncertain, as is how each factor may change. For example, it is unclear how quickly greenhouse gases will increase during the twenty-first century due to ever-shifting global political and social factors. It is also unclear how quickly the ozone hole will recover as a result of the Montreal Protocol to phase out ozone-depleting substances. However, the annual springtime minimum ozone amounts that define the ozone hole have leveled off during the past decade, and over roughly the same period the upward SAM trend has weakened. It is still unknown whether this is due to coincidence, but if the SAM trend continues to weaken (or reverses), other influences that in recent decades have taken a back seat to the SAM may play a more dominant role in determining temperature trends over all of Antarctica. These include the direct effect of heat-trapping greenhouse gases, possible reductions in sea ice, and the increase of ocean temperatures near Antarctica and in the tropics. There is already proxy evidence that widespread warming may occur over Antarctica if and when the SAM subsides; a recent study found that extensive temperature increases have occurred in the middle atmosphere (above the Antarctic surface) since the early 1970s during winter, a season during which the SAM trends are weak.
Getting a handle on the magnitude and extent of Antarctic climate change during the twenty-first century is a top priority of scientists, largely because of the potential implications for sea level rise and the subsequent impacts on heavily populated coastal areas. During the twentieth century, sea level rose by about 18 centimeters. However, during the past decade, as global warming has become stronger and the retreat of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice sheets has accelerated, so has the rate of sea level rise. Thus, projections for twenty-first century sea level rise are higher than for the twentieth century, but the range of estimates is large because the response of the ice sheets to warming is not well known.
Increased snowfall over the ice sheets due to global warming is one factor that contributes to uncertainty in sea-level rise projections. More snowfall means that EAIS and WAIS will grow faster, and therefore offset some of the enhanced loss of ice at the edges of Antarctica due to warmer atmospheric and ocean temperatures. Additionally, the current generation of global climate models-the tools used by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to project future climate-do not include the effects of climate change on the flow of the polar ice sheets. This has caused considerable debate about whether the IPCC sea-level projection for the end of the twenty-first century (18-59 centimeters) is too low. A growing body of evidence suggests that ice sheets respond rapidly to climate change in a manner that causes an accelerating contribution to sea-level rise during warming. Therefore, some leading scientists assert that the amount of sea-level rise by the end of the twenty-first century will be much higher, perhaps as much as 80-200 centimeters. And their concern is not just based on the fact that the IPCC climate models currently do not simulate ice sheet processes. Records of past climatic variability suggest that during the last interglacial period, about 130,000 years ago, sea level was several meters higher during a time when global average temperatures were only a few degrees warmer than they are now. The IPCC models collectively project that global climate will be about 3-4°C warmer by the end of the twenty-first century.
Although the magnitude is disputed, there is wide agreement that global sea level will continue to rise during the twenty-first century. More than 100 million humans live within a meter of sea level, many of them in developing countries that are ill equipped to deal with the problem. Actions on the part of industrial nations to curb greenhouse gas emissions will set an example for rapidly developing nations and will be an important step toward mitigating the impacts of ice sheets on future sea level rise and humans worldwide.
Andrew Monaghan is an atmospheric scientist at the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado.


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The essential guide to road tripping
It's summer holidays and as the main city roads empty out, the roads in regional towns may see a bit more traffic. A summer road trip is an almost mythical holiday adventure for many Australians.
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All over the state, people are heading off to catch some sun, sand and surf. Some go south for surfing, wineries and tall trees. Some go north and hole up in shacks dotted along the sandy shipwreck coast as the wind blows in. The strong westerlies don't bother them as long as there are crayfish and sunshine.
What are the essential ingredients for a great roadtrip? While having your destination in mind, the actual journey is an important element of the experience.
Road music
Regardless of your destination, making the journey more enjoyable is about creating atmosphere. You obviously need music. ABC's Wide Open Road site is the definitive guide to Australian road music.
The Australian landscape features vividly in many great musicians work. Western Australian musicians such as The Pigram Brothers or John Butler make great rolling tracks that propel you through country.
If you're looking for something a bit more 'old school', then The Triffids or Tex Perkins will set the mood beautifully. The Panics also write great travelling music from the edge of Perth. The Waifs cover the road from one end of the country to the other. Music for the Nullarbor includes Kasey Chambers and country classics.
Soundtracks to movies often are a great shorthand leap into the atmosphere of a location. The soundtrack to Mad Bastards is a great way to feel the red dust of the Kimberley in your veins as you throttle along the Great Northern Highway. In the Pilbara, the sound track to Red Dog contains some great driving classics.
Program your mp3 player with playlists and podcasts and off you go. Talking books can also be an amazing way to enhance your journey, especially if you're travelling with the whole family.
You can only go so far on music. Sooner or later you're going to have to fuel up. The broad open highways are dotted with Roadhouses, which are like dusty oases of truckstop food and graffitied amenities.
The Nullarbor has a number of roadhouses each with its own unique character. The Cocklebiddy Roadhouse is an icon, being near the old Eyre Telegraph station and access to the Eyre Bird Observatory.
If you're heading to the Coral Coast, the Overlander Roadhouse has generated its own fame as there is no actual location with that name, but it the name 'Overlander' is now in general use. The roadhouse marks the entry into Monkey Mia. You can pull in and overnight at the Overlander, as you can at many roadhouses. Some, like the Willare Roadhouse, have cabins or 'dongas' for overnight respite.
In the Kimberley, Doon Doon and Turkey Creek roadhouses are cavernous and well stocked. Check out the spectacular painting of by world renown Warmun artist Rover Thomas on the wall of the Turkey Creek dining room. And the Doon Doon roadhouse cheese toasties are almost worth the trip on their own.
Even the Willare Roadhouse near Derby has its own character with its roaming cooks and labyrinthine halls, rooms and truckies dongas.
So, you can fuel up the vehicle and fuel up the body. Roadhouse food has its own culinary style. It's probably not something you'd want to eat every day, but a roadhouse pie and chips, is essential to keep you on the move. Generally speaking, if you are a connoisseur of good coffee, the coffee in roadhouses should to be avoided. A mug of weak tea is probably more in keeping with the roadtrip vibe.
And hitting the road again, don't forget to take an icecream to eat in the car. Mints or lollies for that between stops sugar-fix are also pretty essential.
If you're travelling with kids, packets of sultanas are not recommended as you'll be trying to collect the fallen sultanas from all over the floor of the car for the next six months.
ABC Open producer Ruslan Kulski has discovered the unique delights of Roadhouse sausages.
There are the teatowels and snowdomes, fridge magnets and truckstop caps. They're all classic souvenirs. The best ones are often from the most out the way places. The Iminjti Roadhouse stubby cooler may be a conversation starter and retain pride of place in your collection for years to come.
But there's also the most personal form of souveniring. Picking up small pebbles that rattle on the dashboard and remind you of that particular roadside stop, sticking colourful wildflowers in your hat and taking seed pods from unusual plants, are all personal experiences. However, respect for our flora and fauna is paramount.
All native plants and animals are protected under the Wildlife Conservation Act in WA. Visitors are asked to 'leave no trace' when visiting parks and reserves Check DEC for information on protecting the environment.
Before you head off on a roadtrip, make sure your car is in good shape. Ensure you have a good spare tyre as help can be a long way away if you break down in a remote area. Some roadhouses like Warburton have garage facilities, but not all.
Don't drive for longer than two hours at a stretch. There are rest stops along the way and take the time to stop and smell the wild flowers. Before you head off, you can check road conditions with Main Roads WA
Weather conditions may affect your journey and it's worth keeping an eye on the radar.
You've got a couple of months of summer stretching in front of you, and there's a lot of amazing country right on our doorstep. If you want any more inspiration, Triple J and ABC Open are currently running their own road trip with some amazing shots from all over the country.
So, fuel up the car, crank the stereo and glance occasionally at the GPS. Hit the road and see where it takes you.
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