The Higher Synthesis Foundation is making progress in fulfilling its mission.
- We are in dialog with a growing number of innovative clinicians about how to implement practice-based research specific to their approaches and feasible within the constraints and demands of running a practice.
- We are building and aggregating content for an electronic data capture platform that will synthesize linkage across practices and customizability for unique features of practices.
- A postdoctoral fellow, Ya Wen PhD, has been hired by the foundation to support this work and also to do pathbreaking intellectual work synthesizing genetics and metabolism, with papers in preparation and one published April 2016 in PLOS ONE; see Publications page.
We welcome new partners in our endeavors.
Projects
Gifted Clinicians / Transformative Treatments / Sensitive Measures Project
Formerly called Treatment-Guided Research Initiative and Practice-Based Research Networks, this project aims to generate treatment-based evidence for complex, dynamical, multi-targeted individualized treatment approaches. Over the years that we have had this project, our activities have included
- Gifted Clinicians / Transformative Treatments / Sensitive Measures Project: consultation to help innovative clinicians develop systems for designing sensitive baseline and outcome measures for collecting data on transformative practices
- Herbert, M. (2008). “Treatment-Guided Research: Helping people now with humility, respect and boldness.” Autism Advocate 50(1): 8-14
- Research design consultation for The Center for Discovery Synergy Research Team
- Retrospective and prospective pediatric neurodevelopmental practice outcomes research in collaboration with OCALI and Center for Systems Change
- Research design consultation for the Lydian Center for Innovative Medicine, the Anat Baniel Method – NeuroMovement(R) and the Documenting Hope film project.
- Dr. Herbert is collaborating with Anat Baniel on preparing an invited proposal to perform research on the Anat Baniel Method / NeuroMovement(R) approach to stroke recovery, since observed outcomes have far exceeded the usual outcomes; this needs to be documented and these skills need to be widely available. The consultants on the project are Michael Merzenich, eminent neuroplasticity pioneer and author of Softwired, and Jill Bolte Taylor, neuroanatomist who became a famous stroke survivor, and author of My Stroke of Insight.
Documenting Hope Project
- Related to the above project and to Bioregulatory Systems Medicine (see publication on Publications page).
- Description and movie trailer at the Documenting Hope website.
- The project:
Step 1: Heal the Children.
We are providing fourteen children who have autism, ADHD or other seemingly intractable conditions with resources that look beyond what the conventional western medical paradigm has offered thus far. Our program’s direct and comprehensive support for these children and their families will span eighteen months.
Step 2: Document Success.
We are documenting the children’s progress and inviting the world to witness what occurs. The documentation will include film footage that we will incorporate into a powerful feature-length film that explores the environmental factors that contributed to their illnesses as well as the healing modalities that got them better.
Step 3: Develop Best Practices.
We are working with leading physicians and scientists to develop a set of best practices that will improve the standard treatment of these illnesses. We are capturing scientific and metabolic data that that will assist other health professionals as well as the general public. Learn more about our research goals here.
Step 4: Spread the Word.
We are sharing this message of hope with the world: Children can get better, and illness can be prevented. Let us show you how. We will also highlight the parallels between the systems approaches we use for getting the children better, and the systems approaches that are being used in regenerative agriculture and in regenerating damaged ecosystems, consistent with the Mission and Rationale of the Higher Synthesis Foundation