Harald Walach (born 1957) is a German
parapsychologist and advocate of
alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
.
Background
Walach was born in 1957. He received a degree in Psychology from the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...
in 1984, a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the
University of Basel
The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis'', German: ''Universität Basel'') is a university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest surviving universit ...
in 1991, and a PhD in History of Science from the
University of Vienna
The University of Vienna (german: Universität Wien) is a public research university located in Vienna, Austria. It was founded by Duke Rudolph IV in 1365 and is the oldest university in the German-speaking world. With its long and rich histor ...
in 1995. In 1998 he received his
habilitation
Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...
in psychology from the
University of Freiburg
The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...
. He was affiliated for a time with the
Samueli Institute before its closure in 2017.
He worked for a time at the
University of Northampton
, mottoeng = Let us not be ignorant
, established = 2005 (gained University status) 1975 (Nene College established)
, type = Public
, endowment = £0.95 m (2015)
, chancellor = Richard Coles
, vice_chancellor = ...
,
then as director of the Institute of Transcultural Health Studies at
Europa Universität Viadrina,
where he led a training course for doctors in complementary medicine and cultural sciences. In 2012, the state of Brandenburg's commission for reviewing Universities concluded that Walach's institute should not be continued within the university.
In 2017, he was a part-time associate professor at
Poznań University of Medical Sciences
Poznan University of Medical Sciences ( pl, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu) is a prominent Polish medical university, located in the city of Poznań in western Poland. It traces its beginnings to the foundation of Pozna ...
, teaching mindfulness to the international medical students. In July 2021 the university cut its ties with Walach,
in response to a paper that he published in ''Vaccines'', stating that Walach's work "misleadingly used data to yield conclusions that are wrong and may lead to public harm."
Research and professional activities
Walach has conducted studies examining elements of
complementary and alternative medicine
Alternative medicine is any practice that aims to achieve the healing effects of medicine despite lacking biological plausibility, testability, repeatability, or evidence from clinical trials. Complementary medicine (CM), complementary and alt ...
,
and developed the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory. He was an editor of an essay series on Neuroscience, Consciousness, Spirituality, and until 2021 was editor-in-chief of the Karger journal
Forschende Komplementärmedizin.
In 2017, he started the CHS Institute to publish his own writing, including COVID-19 satire and denial.
Controversy
Walach has advocated for revision of the concept of
evidence-based medicine
Evidence-based medicine (EBM) is "the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients". The aim of EBM is to integrate the experience of the clinician, the values of t ...
, promoting holistic and homeopathic alternatives in his publications.
Starting in 2001, along with theoretical physicists
Hartmann Römer and Harald Atmanspacher, Walach developed a model of "weak quantum theory" or "generalised entanglement" that attempted to explain anomalous phenomena, such as non-specific therapy effects and
parapsychological phenomena. This was not taken seriously by other physicists, and referenced mainly in the fields of homeopathic medicine and consciousness studies.
In 2012, Walach received the negative prize "
Goldenes Brett
The award Das Goldene Brett vorm Kopf (English translation: "''The Golden Blockhead''", literal translation "''The Golden Board in Front of the Head''") is a negative prize awarded by the Society for the Scientific Investigation of Pseudosciences ...
" from Austrian skeptics, an annual award for the "most astonishing pseudo-scientific nuisance" of the year. The prize was awarded in part for a masters thesis about the
Kozyrev mirror conducted under his supervision, which was widely regarded as unscientific.
Walach is on the scientific advisory board of a blog called "CAM-Media Watch", which is run by the alternative medicine company
Heel
The heel is the prominence at the posterior end of the foot. It is based on the projection of one bone, the calcaneus or heel bone, behind the articulation of the bones of the lower Human leg, leg.
Structure
To distribute the compressive for ...
. The blog describes itself as a "spin doctor" for promoting Complementary and Alternative Medicine ("CAM"). In 2012, it was reported that the blog had been paid to smear
Edzard Ernst
Edzard Ernst (born 30 January 1948) is a retired British-German academic physician and researcher specializing in the study of complementary and alternative medicine. He was Professor of Complementary Medicine at the University of Exeter, alleged ...
, a scientist critical of homeopathy.
Retracted papers
In June 2021, Walach published two high profile papers containing research pertaining to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, one exaggerating the risks of vaccination, and the other concluding that children should not wear masks. Both papers were retracted the following month.
* The first paper, published in ''
Vaccines
A vaccine is a biological preparation that provides active acquired immunity
The adaptive immune system, also known as the acquired immune system, is a subsystem of the immune system that is composed of specialized, systemic cells and pro ...
'', was retracted within a week
[
*] because of “misrepresentation of the COVID-19 vaccination efforts and misrepresentation of the data,” "several errors that fundamentally affect the interpretation of the findings," and "incorrect and distorted conclusions".
Five members of the editorial board of ''Vaccines'' resigned when the article was published, protesting it as "grossly irresponsible".
* The second paper was published in ''
JAMA Pediatrics
''JAMA Pediatrics'' is a monthly peer-reviewed medical journal published by the American Medical Association. It covers all aspects of pediatrics
Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that invo ...
'', to immediate criticism. This study was funded by an organization (MWGFD) that was founded to fight governmental pandemic protocols, and is known in Germany for promoting COVID conspiracy theories and distributing anti-vaccine flyers. The journal retracted the paper 12 days later, after the authors did not provide sufficiently convincing evidence to resolve the scientific issues raised about the study.
In a press statement, the
Poznań University of Medical Sciences
Poznan University of Medical Sciences ( pl, Uniwersytet Medyczny im. Karola Marcinkowskiego w Poznaniu) is a prominent Polish medical university, located in the city of Poznań in western Poland. It traces its beginnings to the foundation of Pozna ...
dissociated itself from Walach and asserted that his vaccine study "misleadingly used data to yield conclusions that are wrong and may lead to public harm."
As of 2023, Walach has had two publications retracted, and one other paper has received an expression of concern.
References
External links
Harald Walach's personal homepage and blog (German)Curriculum vitae
Harald Walachat
Academia.edu
Academia.edu is a for-profit open repository of academic articles free to read by visitors. Uploading and downloading is restricted to registered users. Additional features are accessible only as a paid subscription. Since 2016 various social ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walach, Harald
Living people
1957 births
German psychologists
Parapsychologists
Medical journal editors
Alternative medicine researchers
University of Freiburg alumni
University of Basel alumni
University of Vienna alumni
People in alternative medicine