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As the term “holistic” implies, "holistic therapy" or
"holistic medicine", is based on the premise of treating the whole individual,
including body, mind, and spirit. Holistic medicine is often contrasted with
allopathic medicine. For this reason, holistic therapies are often referred to
as alternative or complementary. Western medicine has followed the general trend of
Western science toward reductionism and focuses on physical causes and
manifestations of disease. The assumption of most Western physicians tends to be
that if a person has a problem, he or she must have a specific physical cause
for that problem: a virus, a bacterial infection, an injury, a chemical
imbalance, and so on. For this reason, Western medicine relies on research that
demonstrates the efficacy of treatments in alleviating specific symptoms of
illness. This is basically a mechanistic approach, and it works very well
for some things. If a person has a physical problem, especially when the problem
is acute, it makes good sense to address the individual’s physical needs
first. Holistic therapy does not preclude treating physical
problems using known methodologies. The holistic approach, however, suggests
that once the immediate physical problem has been addressed, the origins of the
problem in the individual’s emotional, mental, and spiritual life be
addressed. The general assumption of holistic therapy is that an individual’s
emotions, attitudes, and lifestyle are principal contributors to his or her
health, including tendency toward accidents and injuries and susceptibility to
disease. For this reason, holistic therapy tends to stress prevention rather
than cure. Holistic therapy also tends to assume that no two
individuals are identical and that—in spite of physical, emotional, mental,
and spiritual similarities—each will have differences that may require
different therapeutic approaches. The assumption is that an individual’s
health is more than simply the absence of disease. Holistic therapy includes a
wide variety of modalities, all of which are designed to treat the entire person
rather than treating the part affected by the problem. Common holistic therapies include the following: acupuncture
(and acupressure), aromatherapy, Chinese medicine (which uses herbs
rather than pharmaceuticals), a variety of energy-based modalities (including Therapeutic
Touch, Healing Touch, and Reiki), homeopathy, hypnotherapy and guided
imagery, massage, osteopathy, reflexology, and shamanism. Holistic
therapy is often called vibrational medicine because its approach to wellness
emphasizes the flow vibration of energy throughout the Human Energy Field. Most holistic therapists believe that all healing is
essentially self-healing, that individuals have within them the resources
required to promote their own health and well-being, and one of the goals of
holistic therapy is to encourage individuals to become active participants in
their own health process |
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