Holistic healing can be loosely defined as the process of treating the entire person in the context of that person’s physical, emotional, and spiritual needs. Such healing is felt to be possible in conjunction with, or as an alternative to, traditional Western medicine. In many cases holistic healing is accomplished by the use of “alternative” or “unconventional” treatment techniques, some of which are described below.
It must be stressed that holistic healing is not felt to be incompatible with “mainstream” medicine. In fact, there are many “mainstream” physicians whose practices are based on holistic principles such as inclusion of family members in healthcare decision making; offering psychological, religious or spiritual counseling to accompany medical therapy during illnesses, and the use of meditation or other self-contemplative techniques to achieve “spiritual harmony” during illness.
Widespread interest in holistic healing and/or alternative medicine can be traced to at least the end of World War II, when Western service members returned home after becoming familiar with Eastern philosophy and spirituality (e.g. Buddhism or Daoism) while stationed in Japan, China, or India. During the Counter-cultural Era of the 1960s, the rapid shifts in societal structure and social values facilitated the widespread acceptance of nontraditional philosophies which rejected the emphasis placed on the material or physical aspect of Western medicine. This rejection has since matured into today’s holistic philosophy of medical practice. Medical systems or philosophies that stress the holistic approach to healing include:
Oriental Medicine
“Oriental medicine” was the first holistic healing philosophy to gain acceptance in the Western world and has become almost synonymous with the latter term. As an umbrella term, Oriental medicine encompasses therapies such as acupuncture, acupressure, Oriental herbalism, Shiatsu massage, reflexology, and literally dozens of other varieties of healing.
Despite their differences, all Oriental medicine techniques hold that disease is the result of some imbalance or inequality in the amount of some vital force such as the archetypical Yin and Yang. Imbalances can also occur if too much influence is being exerted by one body system to the detriment of other systems. It is the goal of Oriental holistic healing to restore pre-existing balances by a combination of materiel and spiritual therapies. The acceptance of Oriental medicine among practitioners of Western medicine is essentially neutral, with an almost equal number of supporters and detractors.
Directed Energy Therapy
Also known by any number of synonyms such as Reikki, Soul Energy Healing, Inner Focus Energy Healing, Rainbow Energy Spirituality, or Shaman Energy Transfer, all schools of Directed Energy Therapy assert that all illness is spiritual and is caused by an imbalance of “soul” or “life energy.” The role of the healer in these systems is to function as a conduit or “channeler” for a sufficient amount of energy to correct these imbalances. Some practitioners of Directed Energy Therapy hold that the subject of the healing need not be physically present for healing to occur since they (the healer) have the power to project such healing energy to whatever physical location is necessary. Advocates and practitioners of Western medicine are almost universal in their dismissal of Directed Energy Therapy, often in the most derogatory of terms.
Manipulative Medicine
Technically, manipulative medicine is any form of healing that relies on massage or pressure applied by the healing practitioner. As it such, the term includes all forms of massage therapy, manual pressure, and “adjustments” to correct abnormal positions of the spine or other parts of the body. The latter definition is usually taken to include chiropractic adjustments as well as certain manual components of osteopathy, both of which are popular varieties of holistic healing. Of all the forms of holistic or non-traditional healing, manipulative medicine tends to be the better-accepted by practitioners of conventional Western medicine.
Criticism of Holistic Healing
As might be imagined, there are numerous critics of the practices used in holistic healing. Such criticisms range from the purely prejudicial to challenges to the scientific validity regarding claims of a given holistic technique.
Most defenders of holistic healing will concede that there is little, if any, “scientific proof” that such healing techniques have ever healed anyone except through the “placebo effect.” However, defenders will explain this apparent lack of scientifically-confirmed healings by noting that the scientific methods of Western science are incapable of recognizing “real but intangible entities” such as “soul,” spirit,” or “healing energy” and are thus inherently biased in favor of the West.
In conclusion, holistic healing refers to the concept of treating both the tangible, physical body along with the intangible soul or spirit. Although holistic healing has seen a dramatic increase in popularity and acceptance in recent years, its utility as a form of therapy is still aggressively challenged by the more conservative members of the Western medical establishment.