Healing traditions go abroad

Mongolian medicine and its healers

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A joint project with the US using psychotherapy and naturopathy for the treatment of psoriasis has achieved significant results, she says.

Psychotherapy included "interactive talking sessions" combined with hypnosis, which seemed to help patients recover from their skin conditions.

"As we gradually establish international fame for Mongolian medicine, many high-level TMM doctors who switched to Western medicine have come back to join us, even some who were working abroad.

"There was no province-level TMM hospital in Inner Mongolia before, and the ancient therapies were only preserved on the vast grasslands, some of which cannot be explained by modern science," she says.

"Once these lose the inheritors, they will probably be forgotten. Now we have a chance to gather the knowledge.

"It's difficult to make Westerners fully understand TMM within a short time, and not everyone has the chance to come and see the unbelievable with their own eyes.

"Those whom we have met have kept open minds toward TMM. Their inclusiveness creates a larger space for more cooperation in the future."

In 2013, the health department of Inner Mongolia reached an agreement with the US National Institutes of Health to promote the study of Mongolian medicine.

Ulaan has a wry last word: "If TMM really went into regular hospitals in the US, they may find their medical expenses plummeting."