What is Holistic therapy?
‘Holistic’ comes from the Greek word "holos", meaning ‘whole’. Rather than address an immediate symptom, a holistic therapist will look for the underlying cause by considering current physical, mental, emotional, social and spiritual states of health and well-being. They will then work to restore the body’s natural balance, leading to a more sustained and rewarding quality of life.
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While it has effectively been used for centuries, the scientific community today is now recognizing the importance holistic therapy plays in maintaining good health and overall well-being.
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Holistic health practitioners have many ways of healing, but
they share a common basic approach. They believe in the
ancient idea that healing is most effective when you consider
the whole person, rather than focusing on specific
illnesses, body parts or symptoms. As Socrates said in the 4th
century B.C. “the part can never be well unless the whole is well.
Holistic health is a state of balance, not simply an absence of illness. A
holistic health education teaches the interconnection of mind, body,
spirit and environment—just as it has for thousands of years.
Hippocrates, the father of medicine, who lived in the 4th century B.C.,
stressed the healing power of nature. He believed in encouraging the
self-healing efforts of the body. Other early physicians were
more interested in actively stepping in to correct illness. These two
approaches—support versus intervention—were debated for centuries
until the scientific revolution of the 19th century.
With the discovery of germs as a disease-causing agent, Western medicine became thoroughly
focused on intervention. Diseases were treated as invaders to be destroyed with medicines such as
penicillin. Physicians paid less attention to healthy lifestyle choices, environmental factors and
emotional health. The emphasis was on symptoms and syndromes. Patients were discouraged from
participating in their own health care and began to believe that medicine should simply “fix” them.
It took almost a century for the limitations of this approach to become clear. Some scientific medical
cures proved more harmful than the diseases they sought to treat. Other diseases and chronic
conditions failed to respond to scientific treatment.
Eventually people began to seek alternative forms of medicine. This led to a renewal of interest in holistic health education in the West.
We live in a time of great imbalance. There are more pollutants and chemicals in our food and environment than ever before. We face epidemic rates of obesity and chronic disease. Most people have poor diet and exercise habits. Almost everyone in our fast-paced society struggles to manage daily stress, and many are afflicted with chronic depression and anxiety.
Because of all this, consumers are concerned for their health. There has never been a greater need for the holistic health approach, and people are demanding medical alternatives and actively seeking better options for their personal wellness.