Dr Rogier Hoenders - The Netherlands

Born in 1972 in Groningen, the Netherlands. Father worked as a general practitioner and now practices acupuncture and homeopathy. Mother raised four children, worked as a nurse, studied naturopathy, reflexology, diet /food and completed art-school. They were of great influence and awakened his passion for medicine.

Started Medicine in 1991, got his MD in 1998, and finished his specialisation as a psychiatrist in 2004. Now works with young
people suffering from psychosis / schizophrenia in GGz Winschoten
(a psychiatric hospital in the Netherlands). He is the founder of the “Centre of Integrated Psychiatry” in Winschoten and the organiser
of the congress Integrated Psychiatry in Holland (www.integralepsychiatrie.nl). The Centre of Integrated Psychiatry is an information centre, specialised in giving information to psychiatric patients and therapists about the effectiveness of different kinds of Medicine and Healing in the field of psychiatry.

He also works as a researcher in “de Middenweg” (that is Dutch for “The Middle Way”). This is the name of this research group. This group gathers research on the use of complementary and alternative medicine (or Traditional Medicine) by psychiatric patients and the effectiveness of these medicines. He is on the advisory board of Lama Gangchen International Foundation, USA.

Other interests: running, singer in a band (www.festivaloffriends.nl), travelling and Tibet.

Rogier Hoenders
hjr.hoenders@wanadoo.nl

GGz Winschoten
Mr. D.U. Stikkerlaan 1
Postbus 286
9670 AG Winschoten
the Netherlands
hjr.hoenders@ggzgroningen.nl

Positive Side Effects in Psychiatry

When Lama Gangchen first talked about the title of his speech for the congress ”Integrated Psychiatry; the best of both worlds” in Holland in March this year I was surprised. He decided that it should be: “Positive Side-Effects are the Best Medicine for Health”.

Positive side-effects? I am so trained in thinking about side effects in a negative way, that I did not realise that it can be positive too! Moreover, that they are even the best Medicine for health. Of course, when used in this way, side effects do not (only) refer to pharmacological effects of drugs, but also to all the (intended and not-intended) effects of what we do, think, feel or say!

Everything we do, say, think, or feel has an effect (which we intend), but also many, many other effects. Because everything is dependent on causes and conditions. And everything is interconnected. This is the Buddhist subject of emptiness.

In this presentation we will look into this subject and how it can be applied to psychiatry. How to use it in such a way that it even becomes “the best medicine for health”.