Mindhealing focuses on mental trauma and maladies of the mind and emotions, rather than the physical well-being of the patient. Healers with the Mind Healing Gift often specialize in psychology as well. The ability to tinker with a patient's mind can present moral dilemmas for the Healer.
Talia is not officially a Mindhealer, but her pull to the patients in the Healers' Collegium is usually related. Injured Heralds feeling survivor's guilt, or in tremendous pain, were aided by Talia's counseling as well as her strong Empathy Gift, which she sometimes used to influence their emotions.[1]
Another use of Mindhealing is to cushion and distance the mind from a traumatic experience, as with Skif's fear of heights, and Talia's rape. It isn't a permanent solution, but it helps the person to cope and remember without re-experiencing the full trauma.
One ambitious feat performed by Healer Crathach was implanting some memories from Alberich into several Herald volunteers, making them less likely to be exposed while spying on Karse.[2]
Mindhealers can help people think outside the box. The Collegium was uncertain how to train Abi's unusual Gift of sensing structural stress. Mindhealer Sanje was skilled in this area. She helped Abi turn the vague sensations into useful visuals pinpointing the stresses.[3]
Mindhealer Androa Baireschild was assigned to help a substance abuser, but she instead encouraged the problem, and took advantage of the person for her own purposes.[4]
References[]
- ↑ Arrows of the Queen trilogy
- ↑ Exile's Honor
- ↑ Eye Spy
- ↑ "The Choice Makes the Chosen" by Stephanie D. Shaver in Passages, Valdemar Anthology, volume 14