Loneliness and Despair: Exploring Current Issues

How can we become healers?  

In these times of disconnection, we all search for sources of healing. One powerful, often untapped source is the healing we can provide for each other. For this conversation, I turned to my long-time medical school mentor, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen. Rachel is widely known for launching the course The Healer’s Art, which has been taught to over 30,000 medical students, including me. Now in her 80s, she has been a guiding light for decades. 

In this live conversation, we explore deep questions: What is the difference between curing and healing? What is the role of love in doctoring? How is listening a form of healing? Rachel draws from her own life, including the harsh experience of being the only woman in her medical school class and living with chronic illness; while still painful, those experiences helped her understand who she is. 

In an increasingly complex world, knowing ourselves and finding ways to express love is what this episode of House Calls is all about. 

(03:40)    How Dr. Remen and Dr. Murthy connected through the heart and soul of medicine. 

(14:01)    What is the difference between healing and curing? 

(16:10)    What is a wounded healer? 

(20:51)    What is the role of love in healing? 

(23:00)    How does serving others help the heart and soul? 

(24:28)    How did Dr. Remen find a place she really belongs, and how can we? 

(30:20)    What does it mean to be one of a kind? 

(34:30)    Why love is a blessing for a lifetime. 

(46:22)    What has Dr. Remen learned from her cancer patients about healing? 

(49:25)    How can we be source of healing for others? 

(54:09)    What can help us break away from feelings of despair?   

For more conversations, visit www.surgeongeneral.gov/housecalls. 

We’d love to hear from you! Send us a note at housecalls@hhs.gov with your feedback & ideas. 

Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, Physician & Teacher 

Facebook: @rachelnaomiremen 

About Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen 

Rachel Naomi Remen, MD is Clinical Professor Emeritus of Family and Community Medicine at the UCSF School of Medicine and Professor of Family Medicine at Wright State University Boonshoft School of Medicine in Ohio. In 1991, she founded the Remen Institute for the Study of Health and Illness (RISHI) a national training institute for physicians, nurses, medical students, nursing students, veterinarians and other health professionals who wish to practice a health care of compassion, meaning, service and community. She is an internationally recognized medical educator whose innovative discovery model course in professionalism, resiliency and relationship-centered care for medical students, The Healer’s Art, is taught at more than 90 American medical schools and schools in seven countries abroad. Her bestselling books “Kitchen Table Wisdom” and “My Grandfather’s Blessings” have been published in 23 languages and have millions of copies in print. 

In recognition of her contribution to medicine and medical education, she has received numerous awards including three honorary degrees, the prestigious Bravewell Award as one of the earliest pioneers of Integrative Medicine and Relationship Centered Care. In 2013, she was voted the Gold-Headed Cane award by UCSF School of Medicine for excellence in embodying and teaching the qualities and values of the true physician. Dr. Remen has a 70-year personal history of chronic illness, and her work is a potent blend of the perspectives and wisdom of physician and patient.