Holism and Complementary Medicine: Origins and Principles

The rise of complementary medicine is one of the most important developments in healthcare over the past three decades. This popular text outlines the history and philosophy behind holistic therapies and examines their role in contemporary health systems.

This fully updated new edition of Holism and Complementary Medicine offers a systematic overview of traditional healing practices, the development of the Western biomedical model from the ancient Egyptians and Greeks to the present, and the holistic philosophy which forms the basis of complementary and alternative medicine in the West. It includes a new chapter covering developments over the past two decades, including an increased focus on integrative medicine and public health. Additonal sections focus on new material related to traditional and indigenous medicines, including Ayurveda and Australian aboriginal medicine.

The book explores the differences between holistic and conventional biomedical traditions and approaches, and acknowledging the strengths of each. It also addresses key practice issues, examining the role holistic principles have to play in today’s health system.

Holism and Complementary Medicine is an accessible guide for students, practitioners, and anyone interested in the origins and core principles of natural therapies.

Vincent Di Stefano is a practitioner in osteopathy and Western herbal medicine, with a clinical practice in Melbourne, Australia. He has qualifications in acupuncture and naturopathy as well as a Masters in Health Sciences from Victoria University. He has lectured extensively in Western herbal medicine, philosophical concepts of healing, and qualitative research methods in private colleges and at undergraduate and postgraduate level in the Health Sciences department at Victoria University. He regularly contributes to journals, conferences and professional associations, and was founding editor of the first peer-reviewed multi-modality complementary medicine journal in Australia, Journal of the Australian Natural Therapists’Association.