Health Fair

I don't advertise my practice, but I do get out and speak to community groups. Recently I was invited to attend an employee Health Fair at Argonne National Laboratory. This is a huge government installation that does work for the Department of Energy. The Fair was held in the new Theory of Computational Science Building, and it was that largest installation of networked and distributed computing I've ever seen. My "Inner Geek" was practically drooling over the racks of servers and high-end gear.

The building itself was a concrete structure, with the interior floors arranged as balconies. At the bottom there was a (fake) Zen Garden of raked gravel and artistically arranged plants. Here is a photo:

The Fair itself was fun to do. I do several of these each year and have a standard table display about my work that I lug along. I also give out free self-hypnotism CDs that are always appreciated.

In addition to "mainstream" groups like the American Cancer Society and insurance companies, the group of presenters included several "non-traditional" practices that I found refreshing. There was a Feng Shui professional offering advice in how to "energetically" arrange office environments. There was a Chiropractic Physician, and a Naturopedic Physician who also did acupuncture and Traditional Chinese Medicine.

As I looked at this mix I realize how far we've come. Years ago the health care community resisted any inclusion of non-traditional healing methods. Not so anymore. Given what we've learned about mind/body work, I think it is a good thing that people recognize the broad spectrum of health care options that we enjoy in our society.