I don't know. I understand your point of view, but I know of people with RA or other diseases who have it much worse than I do - I know someone that at 20 years old had to undergo a hip and knee replacement because her joints were completely fused together. This is not a "mind over body" condition, in my opinion. There are things that even the strongest belief will have a hard time curing. How about severe allergies that can kill you, like nuts, or even those really strange allergies only 100 people in the world have, like allergies to sweat or water? And diseases like Coeliac?
A few years ago, I used to get regular reflexology treatments from someone who knew me very well. At some point she started getting really worried and ask me if there was something wrong with my kidneys. And me, what do I know, I feel fine, so I said no. And whenever she touched a specific point in my feet I'd flinch, because it hurt. And she got more and more worried. But apart from the pain in my foot, I was just fine.
A few weeks later, I realized I was walking with really bad shoes and replaced them. That was the end of that story. My kidneys were, and still are, just fine. And as I told her - sometimes, despite everything, a pain in my foot is simply that - a pain in my foot.
I'm not trying to discredit or disprove anything here, but especially as a therapist, isn't it important to doubt and consider the options that maybe, sometimes, a physical condition is exactly that, without an underlying mind thing?
Small issues, yes.
I do understand what you are saying.
The best healer is the person himself /herself.
And I do recommend that last book, though 🙂