Philosophy

Based on his own experiences and on those made by doctors like Dr Joseph Issels as early as 50 years ago, Dr Woeppel has developed a successful holistic concept of therapy.

This concept implies that a number of chronical and especially malign diseases come into being above all if the body's endogenous environment is changed negatively by a lot of very different factors, for instance by hereditary factors, chronical infections, unhealthy eating habits, mental conflicts, detrimental ways of thinking, but also by physical and chemical influences and so on. This disturbance of the body's environment is combined with a complex disturbance of regulation and resistance mechanisms by which complete organ systems are weakened, especially the immune system, responsible for the resistance against diseases.

On the physical level
the three main aims of the immune-biological treatment are therefore

- detoxification

- regeneration and

- activation of endogenous resistance.

On the emotional level
the patients learn how to deal better with their feelings (often of a negative kind such as fears, worries, grief, guilt, impatience, anger, rage), to accept them and to put the energy contained in them to good use in a way which is meaningful and constructive for the intended healing process.

On the mental level
we can learn to let go recurring and detrimental thoughts and fears and to acquire our own individual notion of being whole and healthy.

Therefore the therapy of the Hufeland Klinik comprises the following components:

1) The basic therapy to detoxify and regenerate the organism:
stimulation of the different possibilities to detoxify the body via liver, kidneys, intestine, skin, mucosa by homoeopathic and vegetable medicines, supply of certain vitamins, trace elements, enzymes, control of symbiosis, colonhydrotherapy, water massage, oxygen multistep therapy, ozone therapy/ HOT, physical measures such as manual lymph drainage, hydrotherapy applications according to Kneipp, reflex zone therapy, massage cupping therapy, Auto-hormone therapy and by the famous mineral springs of Bad Mergentheim

 2) Whole foods diet to optimize metabolism:
The healthy functioning of a body cell is largely dependent on an optimum metabolism. The better our metabolism - the living environment of our cells -,the better our life processes work in each individual cell.

The Hufeland Klinik offers a mainly lactovegetable diet. Once a week meat (lamb, beef or game) or fish is served. We attach great importance to seasonal diet and we select our suppliers with the greatest possible care. (see more under Diet and Nutrition)

3) Immune therapy to activate endogenous resistance:
fever therapy, hyperthermy, ozone therapy, thymus preparations, vegetable medicines and immune modulators improve the functioning of immune resistance.

 4) Conventional therapy if necessary, but as careful and individual as possible:
With a life-threatening disease like cancer we have to resort to all kinds of medicine. If it should really be necessary, a mild chemo- or hormone therapy can still prove very successful if it neither impairs the well-being of the patient nor damages his resistance, particularly if it is combined with hyperthermy or with procedures to potentiate effectiveness like IPT (q.v.).

5) Psychotherapeutic and mental care of the patient to strengthen his willingness to recover and his personality: We attach great importance to this aspect. By using various psychological therapy approaches - therapeutic dance as a means of experiencing the body, art therapy, work at the clay-field, deep relaxation, group hypnosis, visualization techniques according to Simonton, meditation and intensive talk therapy - the team of the clinic tries to find out about and to dissolve emotional or mental blockades which often exist unknown by the patient. In this way he may experience moments of liberation or regain his courage and willingness to face life.

All these different elements of our holistic therapy approach show that we strive to take into consideration all possibilities which may exert a health restoring influence:
metabolism which essentially determines the behaviour of a cancer cell, the detoxification of the body, the immune system, the psychological needs and the mental attitude of the patients to themselves, to their diseases and to their lives.

All patients should be conscious of the fact that they always play an active role in the treatment and healing processes.

The natural self-healing powers of a person must not be destroyed by a therapy. With our treatment we intend to develop them, to activate them and to incorporate them into the healing process. For you cannot activate a weak resistance system unless you have provided for a regeneration of the body's resistance in the first place. And you cannot regenerate this resistance as long as the body is brimming with toxins and the soul is burdened with worries, griefs and depressions.

Dr Woeppel put it into the following words: "A disease (cancer) is in this respect not only a disturbance of a single organ, but it is always the expression of a comprehensive disturbance of the whole person in his unity of body and soul. Such a therapeutic approach does not fight nature, but takes into account its healing powers; it does not destroy people, but encourages them and opens up opportunities even if conventional methods are ineffective or harmful."