- Cynthia Henry, assistant editor
New vision of healing I have practiced and taught emergency medicine for more than nine years. No one knows better than I the lifesaving gifts of conventional medicine. Without them, my patients would suffer terribly, and many would die. But I also integrate ``alternative'' approaches to healing into my practice of medicine.
Here's why:
I put the word alternative inside quotation marks to make a point: It means different things to different people around the globe. In Europe, conventionally trained physicians routinely and safely prescribe plant medicines. Patients are treated in homeopathic hospitals in London, as well as New Delhi. Acupuncture is routine in China and Japan. Meditation is a core wellness practice worldwide. These are not fads, but rich traditions of clinical experience.
Americans turn to alternative therapies for valid reasons. In practical terms, conventional medicine falls short in treating many illnesses, such as the common cold, cancer, AIDS and chronic pain. Who wouldn't want to explore all options?
There are other important reasons as well. Patients understand that their own capacity for self-healing is typically underplayed, even suppressed, by many conventional interventions. Antibiotics and steroids provide rescue, but they don't nurture, support or balance the body's ecology. Nutritional therapies, acupuncture, herbal medicine, homeopathy and other alternative systems seek to support and strengthen the inherent wellness of each patient as their fundamental healing strategy.
Patients know that they are more than bags of biochemicals and that healing involves more than drug therapy. We seek purpose, intimacy and communion, especially in the midst of illness. We are drawn to those healing traditions that carry a wisdom of body, soul and spirit.
