The salutogenic gaze: Theorising the practitioner role in complementary and alternative medicine consultations

Research on why people use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) shows clients value the CAM consultation, where they feel listened to and empowered to control their own health. Such ‘empowerment’ through CAM use is often theorised as reflecting wider neoliberal imperatives of self‐responsibi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Sociology of health & illness 2023-06, Vol.45 (5), p.1008-1027
Main Authors: Brosnan, Caragh, Tickner, Campbell, Davies, Kate, Heinsch, Milena, Steel, Amie, Vuolanto, Pia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alternative approaches
Alternative medicine
Archaeology
Clients
clinical consultations
complementary and alternative medicine
Coping
Empowerment
Foucauldian analysis
Foucault
Health education
Health promotion
Health services
Knowledge
Neoliberalism
patient empowerment
Power
power/knowledge
salutogenesis
Self evaluation
Surveillance
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Summary:Research on why people use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) shows clients value the CAM consultation, where they feel listened to and empowered to control their own health. Such ‘empowerment’ through CAM use is often theorised as reflecting wider neoliberal imperatives of self‐responsibility. CAM users' perspectives are well studied, but there has been little sociological analysis of interactions within the CAM consultation. Specifically, it is unclear how user empowerment/self‐knowledge relates to the CAM practitioner's power and expert knowledge. We address this using audio‐recorded consultations and interviews with CAM practitioners to explore knowledge use in client‐practitioner interactions and its meaning for practitioners. Based on our analysis and drawing on Foucault (1973), The Birth of the Clinic: an archaeology of medical perception and Antonovsky (1979), Health, Stress and Coping, we theorise the operation of power/knowledge in the CAM practitioner‐client dyad by introducing the concept of the ‘salutogenic gaze’. This gaze operates in the CAM consultation with disciplining and productive effects that are oriented towards health promotion. Practitioners listen to and value clients' stories, but their gaze also incorporates surveillance and normalisation, aided by technologies that may or may not be shared with clients. Because the salutogenic gaze is ultimately transferred from practitioner to client, it empowers CAM users while simultaneously reinforcing the practitioner's power as a health expert.
ISSN:0141-9889
1467-9566
DOI:10.1111/1467-9566.13629