Holistic medicine – what is it? Treatment methods in holistic medicine

Holistic medicine is an approach based on the assumption that the patient’s body and individual spheres of his life constitute a homogeneous whole, and treatment consists in restoring harmony in all areas of life, not only in the treatment of a given fragment of the human body.

What is holistic medicine?

Holistic medicine it is actually more of a philosophy or worldview about the practice of medicine than a specific method of healing practice. This worldview is based on a comprehensive approach to the patient, reported ailments and diagnosed diseases. The term “holistic” is derived from the Greek word holos, meaning “whole”, so holistic medicine is based on the assumption that the human being – the patient – is a holistic system. According to assumptions holistic medicine both the body and soul of the patient must be treated, and improvement in one area of ​​life also brings improvement in other areas (and vice versa). According holistic medicine body, mind, soul and emotions are one, and when one fails, other areas begin to fail as well. Another rule holistic medicine the premise is that you should look for the correct causes of the condition, rather than just treating the symptoms. Often doctors who refer to the rules holistic medicine use natural medicine methods in their therapeutic practice.

Under holistic medicine the patient is treated as a person – a psychophysical unity – not as a disease entity. It is also assumed that the patient will actively participate in the treatment process, not only passively undergo it. The most important rule holistic medicine is the belief that balance and harmony at all levels of human life is a necessary condition for health and happiness.

The motto of one of the supporters of the application holistic medicine there was a saying: “It is more important to know what disease the patient has than what disease the patient has” (William Osler).

Treatment methods used in holistic medicine

Holistic medicine uses both methods that are the achievements of modern academic medicine, as well as broadly understood natural medicine. The method of treatment is selected individually for the patient, because the principle is holistic medicine is that each patient is a separate, unique entity. Treatment is applied holistically – that is, somatic diseases are treated as a symptom of disorders in other spheres of life, especially in the spiritual and emotional. Holistic medicine assumes that restoring the balance in these spheres will also positively affect the physical health of the patient.

Holistic medicine and alternative medicine

Holistic medicine is fundamentally different from alternative medicine. The latter is based on the use of medicinal practices, the effectiveness of which is not scientifically proven or whose effects are only supported by a long-standing tradition (for example in the case of acupuncture). Holistic medicine uses natural medicine methods such as:

1. herbal medicine – (also herbal medicine) is the science of pharmacognosy and the use of medicinal plants. Plants have been the staple of healing throughout most of human history, and such traditional medicine is still widely practiced. Modern medicine uses many compounds of plant origin as the basis of pharmaceutical drugs.
2. aromatherapy – is based on the use of aromatic substances, including essential oils and other aromatic compounds, in order to improve mental or physical well-being. 
3. massage – the practice of applying pressure, tension, movement or vibration – by hand or by mechanical means – to the soft tissues of the body, including muscles, connective tissue, tendons, ligaments, joints, and lymph vessels to obtain a favorable response from the body. As a form of therapy, massage can be used on individual parts of the body or on the whole body, supporting the healing process of injuries, relieving stress, relieving pain, and improving blood circulation. Where massage is used for its physical and mental benefits, it may be called “therapeutic massage” or manual therapy.
4. relaxation techniques (relaxation) – any method, process, procedure or activity that helps a person relax; achieve a state of increased calm; or otherwise reduce the level of pain, anxiety, stress, or anger. Relaxation techniques are often used as part of a wider stress management program and can, among other things, reduce muscle tension, lower blood pressure, and slow down heart rate and respiration. 

However, above all, it remains within the framework of methods whose effectiveness is scientifically proven. Natural healing methods are treated in holistic medicine as complementary, auxiliary, helping to restore harmony in those spheres of the patient’s life that cannot be improved through pharmacotherapy. For this reason holistic medicine it is treated with distrust by conservative academics, but should not be confused with alternative medicine.

Holistic medicine and homeopathic medicine

Holistic medicine can be confused with homeopathic medicine because it sounds similar, but the terms are not the same. Homeopathy refers to the use of very small amounts of a substance to obtain various purported health benefits. Homeopathic medicine is based on the premise that you can choose a treatment based on how similar the symptoms caused by the medicine are to those associated with the condition being treated. Homeopathic treatment is a hotly debated subject, and many researchers have concluded that it has no application for serious diseases and conditions.

Issues treated by holistic medicine

Holistic therapy can be used to solve any number of challenges for different people. A holistic approach may be beneficial in treating:

1. depression;
2. anxiety;
3. anxiety about mood changes;
4. somatic complaints;
5. stress;
6. trauma, such as, for example, sexual abuse and assault.

Holistic therapy ideas are often used in the areas of prophylactic therapy, also known as wellness practices. In the area of ​​prophylaxis, holistic therapy takes the form of many alternative practices, such as meditation, yoga, acupuncture, and massage. Additionally, a wellness focused therapist typically works with people to maintain a balance in caring for their mind, body, and spirit. Often this involves encouraging people to take part in physical activities, explore their spirituality (for those who express their spiritual nature) or stay in touch with loved ones through positive communication styles.

Acceptance and criticism of holistic medicine

The term holistic has historically been burdened with some negative connotations as some associate it with controversial treatments such as homeopathy. However, widely accepted and accredited treatments such as chiropractic and massage are forms of holistic medicine. The acceptance of holistic medicine has generally increased in the medical community in recent years, including in the psychological community, as more and more studies are emerging that show the benefits of a holistic approach.

Proponents of holistic therapy argue that this approach is effective in treating various types of anxiety disorders, major depression, stress-related problems and trauma-related disorders such as sexual abuse and post-traumatic stress disorder. However, the main limitation of a holistic therapeutic approach is its purpose. It is extremely difficult to actually reach the “spirit” of an individual or understand or observe whether the sick have really integrated their body, feelings and spirit. There are no actual defined empirical standards that can determine whether someone has done this type of integration or not.

Moreover, many of the concepts of holistic therapy are more in line with philosophy than with actual concepts of treatment. Attempts to integrate some principles of holistic therapy with empirically proven psychotherapies have been more effective, such as the use of short dynamic psychotherapy (a type of therapy based on the assumptions of Freud’s psychoanalysis theory) and some bodywork techniques such as breathing techniques, tai chi, yoga, etc. Even then many of these reports come from questionable sources. Due to the wide range of techniques and different approaches in holistic therapy, there is very little credible scientific research that can be used as evidence that this approach offers significant benefits.

Holistic treatment tends to downplay traditional pharmaceutical approaches to treatment, and in many cases holistic therapy providers have quite strong criticism of them. Instead, other types of approaches are preferred, such as acupuncture, massage, natural therapy, etc. however most of these therapies do not have solid empirical evidence to support their use in a wide variety of diseases or conditions. For example, acupuncture is a technique often suggested as a treatment in holistic medicine. A number of empirical studies, such as a review published in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in March 2009, found that it often doesn’t matter where acupuncture needles are placed. People who have undergone treatments report that they feel better, even if the needles are not attached in accordance with acupuncture practice. This indicates that acupuncture may simply use the placebo effect.

The bottom line with holistic therapy is that those wishing to engage in this form of treatment should ensure that the therapist is licensed and certified in some form of professional mental health treatment discipline such as counseling, clinical psychology, and covers aspects of the holistic approaches with empirically validated therapeutic techniques, such as standard forms of therapy. Those seeking to engage in this form of therapy should discuss the therapist’s qualifications, training, and any other certification or area of ​​expertise.

Holistic medicine and the dangers arising from it

Holistic medicine, or the holistic approach, has its advantages, unfortunately it also has its disadvantages. It can be especially dangerous in cases where a person is struggling with a very serious disease that directly threatens his life. Such people are able to lean towards various methods of treatment, experiment and, without any consultation with a doctor, decide on ineffective methods which, although temporarily improving their well-being, will not solve their problems. It should be added that in the case of diseases such as cancer, the effects of such actions may be irreversible. Turning to easy and painless, i.e. ineffective, methods of treatment is the main argument of opponents of holistic medicine. Patients who make such choices usually do not know how to treat a given condition, and when they realize that the methods they have chosen are not effective, in most cases it is too late to start conventional treatment, because the disease has already had time. develop (there is a chance that if treatment had been given in time the disease could have been overcome).

Holistic medicine and psychosynthesis

Psychosynthesis is a form of holistic therapy based on the idea that all living beings naturally strive to become their fullest self-realization, and the best way to develop is to consciously collaborate with this natural tendency.

Human beings are uniquely capable of understanding and facilitating this process through therapy, self-reflection, meditation, and many other preferred methods. The term psychosynthesis was coined by the Italian psychiatrist Roberto Assagioli in 1911. It was conceived as an attempt to fill the gaps that many early mental health experts believed Sigmund Freud had left in his theories about the human psyche.

Assagioli believed that Freud had ignored the “higher” aspects of humanity in his works and that his theories did not sufficiently encompass the open and complex human nature. Therefore, psychosynthesis was created as a concept that embraces many different aspects of human development and is open to whatever else may be discovered. Naturally, psychosynthesis draws from both Western and Eastern theories of health. Eastern psychology focused more on the spiritual side of health, while the western part focused more on personality and neurobiology. The goal of psychosynthesis is to combine these and all theories to provide clients with complete healing and the ability to realize their full potential and express “I” in the purest, most natural way possible. “I” refers to the essence of a person – who he really is under all the baggage of experiences, expectations, and defense that each person builds. With “compassionate attention,” clients are guided through the conversation therapy to rediscover the “I” that is often hidden behind the many identities they may have created for themselves.

The tradition of holistic medicine

Holistic medicine has a centuries-old tradition. It was used, for example, in Chinese medicine, which understood disease as a symptom of disturbances in the flow of vital energy, and treated the human body as a whole. Traditional Chinese medicine aimed to restore balance and restore lost energy. Her job was to keep the patient healthy, not to cure an existing illness. Also Hippocrates was of the opinion that the patient should be treated individually, and the physical condition (including the appearance of diseases) is greatly influenced by the patient’s mental state (and vice versa). According to tradition holistic medicine one should treat the man, not the disease.

A distrustful approach to holistic medicine it is a matter of the past two centuries when medicine has developed rapidly with its methods based on the latest technological achievements. The patient began to be perceived as an accident, and the disease as a defect that should be quickly repaired. Patients were no longer treated individually. A holistic approach practiced by some doctors nowadays is an attempt to return to the principles of the centuries-old tradition of humanistic medicine, that is, directed at the man and his problem, not at the treatment of the case. An important difference is the belief that the causes of many diseases lie outside the patient’s body – in his psyche, and even in his family and interpersonal relationships. Holistic medicine shows the relationship between biology and the psyche and, for example, lifestyle – it seems to be an obvious state of affairs, but nevertheless in the technical academic medicine this fact seems to be forgotten.

Interesting facts about holistic medicine

1. 88% of the World Health Organization (WHO) member states admit to using traditional and complementary medicine; according to WHO, these countries have “rules, laws, regulations, programs and offices” that deal with complementary medicine;
2. According to a WHO analysis, 80% of African populations use some form of herbal medicine;
3. Of the 11 countries in Southeast Asia belonging to the WHO, 10 had policies and institutions to regulate alternative and integrative medicine, most of all geographic groups in their member states. As many Southeast Asian countries have strong traditions of complementary and alternative medicine, their governments had the most robust system for regulating alternative care;
4. The Greek physician Hippocrates, often considered the “Founder of Medicine”, practiced holistic medicine. His medical school included holistic practices of “promoting health, trauma interventions, and psychiatric care and art therapy,” according to an article in the Journal of Medical Ethics and History of Medicine.