German New Medicine (GNM): Concepts, Claims, and Scientific Critique

German New Medicine (GNM) is an alternative medical theory developed by German physician Ryke Geerd Hamer in the late 1970s. It proposes a radical reinterpretation of disease and health, asserting that illnesses—from minor ailments to serious conditions like cancer—are meaningful biological responses to unresolved psychological conflicts or sudden traumatic shocks.

Core Principles of German New Medicine

At the heart of GNM is the claim that diseases are not malfunctions but “special biological programs” initiated by the brain as evolutionary survival responses to acute emotional trauma, known as “conflict shocks.” According to GNM, each trauma activates specific brain areas that correspond to particular organs or tissues, triggering coordinated biological reactions through two distinct phases:

1. Conflict Active Phase: During this phase, an unresolved psychological conflict causes physical changes in related organs, which can present as symptoms such as tumors, ulcers, or rashes. GNM frames these symptoms as purposeful biological adaptations rather than diseases.

2. Conflict Resolution Phase: Once the underlying conflict is resolved, the body enters a healing phase where these changes reverse, often accompanied by symptoms like inflammation or pain. GNM interprets these as normal healing processes rather than illness progression.

GNM further claims that brain CT scans reveal unique concentric ring structures called “Hamer Focus” linked to these emotional conflicts and their physical manifestations, positing a direct connection between psyche, brain, and organ.

The Five Biological Laws of GNM

Dr. Hamer formulated five foundational biological laws, including:

1. Diseases originate from a sudden, isolating conflict shock (DHS).
2. Every disease progresses through two phases: conflict active and healing.
3. The psyche, brain, and organ form an integrated system where emotional conflicts affect specific brain regions causing organ changes.
4. Microbes involved in diseases are not causes but assist healing during the resolution phase.
5. All biological responses are meaningful, evolutionarily programmed survival mechanisms, not pathological errors.

Practice and Implications

GNM practitioners focus on identifying and resolving the emotional conflicts they believe underlie physical symptoms. They oppose immediate symptom suppression with drugs or surgery, advocating instead for counseling and emotional processing to facilitate natural healing. From headaches to cancer, symptoms are viewed as biological expressions of psychological states, requiring a holistic approach integrating mind and body.

Tests Required for Validity and Acceptance

No rigorous, independently verified clinical trials or empirical studies validate the core claims of German New Medicine (GNM)—that all diseases originate solely from unresolved psychological conflicts controlled by specific brain programs. Investigations by radiologists and medical imaging experts have shown that the so-called “Hamer Focus” on brain scans are merely artifacts or normal anatomical structures, not pathological markers as claimed by GNM.

Mainstream medical science consistently finds that GNM lacks reproducible scientific data, controlled clinical trials, and peer-reviewed research to support its theories or efficacy. While small-scale exploratory studies sometimes examine emotional trauma’s role in health within complementary approaches, none confirm GNM’s radical “Five Biological Laws.” For example, a 2025 study exploring integrating GNM concepts with homeopathy did so as an experimental framework rather than a validation of GNM.

Effective medical experiments require controlled conditions, reproducible results, objective measurements, and independent verification—all criteria that GNM fails to meet. No credible laboratory, clinical trial, or medical institution endorses GNM as a valid treatment method. Leading health authorities and cancer research centers warn strongly against relying on GNM instead of evidence-based therapies, citing risks of harm and fatal outcomes.

Partial Truths but Flawed Conclusions

GNM correctly highlights the influence of psychological factors on physical health—a relationship well recognized by scientific medicine. However, it makes illogical leaps by ignoring the complex interplay of genetics, environment, infections, and lifestyle factors crucial to disease causation. Scientific evidence indicates that the mind often responds to changes in the body’s physiological state, rather than independently initiating disease conditions.

GNM’s core assertion—that virtually all diseases arise exclusively from unresolved psychological conflicts—is contradicted by extensive research and lacks empirical support. The medical community’s rejection of GNM is grounded not in closed-mindedness but in its failure to align with robust, evidence-based medicine founded on decades of experimentation and observation.

The founder, Dr. Ryke Geerd Hamer, lost his medical license due to malpractice connected to endorsing GNM while neglecting conventional treatments, which resulted in patient deaths. Moreover, GNM frequently employs conspiracy theories and dismisses foundational medical science, failing critical scientific standards such as peer review, reproducibility, and biological plausibility.

While the mind-body connection is valid and important, GNM reduces disease causation to an oversimplified and dangerous model that undermines effective healthcare and endangers patients.

Blaming Patient’s Thoughts About Truamas for Disease is Cruel

Blaming patients’ thoughts or emotional responses to trauma for causing their diseases is not only scientifically unfounded but also deeply cruel. German New Medicine’s assertion that unresolved psychological conflicts are the root cause of all illnesses unfairly places responsibility on patients for conditions often beyond their control, fostering guilt and stigmatization. This perspective ignores the complex biological, genetic, and environmental factors that medical science has repeatedly shown play critical roles in disease development. By reducing serious illnesses to mere reflections of emotional states, such claims trivialize suffering, discourage effective treatment, and can lead vulnerable individuals to forgo life-saving medical care—all of which magnify their distress rather than offer genuine healing.

Did He Cure Too Many People?

Claims that Ryke Geerd Hamer lost his medical license because he “cured too many people” are misleading and contradicted by documented evidence. Hamer’s license was revoked in 1986 due to malpractice and practicing outside accepted scientific standards. His promotion of German New Medicine (GNM), which rejects conventional cancer treatments, has been linked to multiple preventable deaths. For example, the well-documented Olivia Pilhar case involved a six-year-old Austrian girl with a Wilms’ tumor whose parents refused conventional treatment in favor of Hamer’s methods. This refusal allowed the tumor to grow large and dangerously reduced her chances of survival until Austrian authorities intervened and ordered chemotherapy and surgery, which ultimately saved her life. Her parents were later sentenced for neglect.Wikipedia, LA Times 1995

Hamer was also investigated and convicted in several European countries for malpractice and illegal medical practice. French courts held him responsible for the deaths of patients who followed his unproven methods. He spent prison terms in both Germany and France related to these actions. Wikipedia, LearningGNM.com

These facts uphold that his license revocation and legal problems resulted not from successfully curing patients, but from ethical and professional violations that endangered lives. Health authorities worldwide condemn his methods as dangerous pseudoscience that have caused significant harm.

But What if Authorities Are Lying to Silence Him and Keep Making Money?

Claims that authorities are lying to silence Ryke Geerd Hamer and that his medical license was revoked to protect profits from conventional medicine are not supported by credible evidence. Official records and court documents show that Hamer’s medical license was revoked in 1986 due to malpractice and practicing medicine outside accepted scientific and ethical standards. He repeatedly continued to provide medical advice without a license, leading to investigations, convictions, and prison sentences in Germany and France for illegal medical practice and fraud.

Notably, his German New Medicine (GNM) system has been linked to multiple preventable patient deaths—cases well documented by health authorities and investigated by courts. For example, authorities held Hamer responsible for dozens of deaths in Spain where his methods were used as alternatives to proven cancer treatments. These decisions resulted from extensive legal processes focused on patient safety rather than any conspiratorial motive to suppress cures.

Moreover, Hamer’s claims of being persecuted by conspiracies have included unfounded accusations against Jewish communities and medical institutions. Independent reviews and medical faculties have thoroughly evaluated and rejected his theories as unscientific and dangerous.

Summary

German New Medicine proposes a controversial theory framing disease as a meaningful biological response to emotional trauma controlled by the brain. While this holistic perspective may have philosophical or symbolic appeal, it is scientifically unproven and dangerously misleading if used as a replacement for conventional medicine.

Those interested in exploring GNM should do so with extreme caution and never abandon established medical treatments. Evidence-based medicine, grounded in extensive research and clinical validation, remains essential for diagnosing and treating diseases safely and effectively.