| Integrative Medicine |
What is Integrative Medicine?
Integrative Medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses care of the whole person
– body, mind, and spirit. The practice of Integrative Medicine integrates conventional and
complementary therapies to promote optimal health and to prevent and treat disease by
addressing contributing factors.
The 10 Principles of Integrative Medical Practice
1. Optimal health is the primary goal of Integrative (Holistic) medical practice. It is the
conscious pursuit of the highest level of functioning and balance of the physical,
environmental, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of human experience, resulting in
a dynamic state of being fully alive. This creates a condition of well-being regardless of the
presence or absence of disease.
2. Learning opportunities. All life experiences including birth, joy, suffering and the dying
process are profound learning opportunities for both patients and health care practitioners.
3. Teaching by Example. Integrative Medicine health care practitioners continually work
toward the personal incorporation of the principles of Integrative health, which then profoundly
influence the quality of the healing relationship.
Teaching by example also puts the practitioner in a place of trying to find balance in their own
life, so that they can be teachers of balance and optimal health.
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name
them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in
the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will
bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit are made
of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked,
damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand
that and strive for balance in your life." Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola
Enterprises from 1959-1994
4. Individuality. Integrative Medicine health care practitioners focus patient care on the
unique needs and nature of the person who has an illness rather than the illness that has the
person.
5. Relationship-centered care. The ideal practitioner-patient relationship is a partnership
which encourages patient autonomy, and values the needs and insights of both parties. The
quality of this relationship is an essential contributor to the healing process.
6. Integration of Healing Systems. Integrative health care practitioners embrace a lifetime
of learning about all safe and effective options in diagnosis and treatment. These options come
from a variety of traditions, and are selected in order to best meet the unique needs of the
patient. The realm of choices may include lifestyle modification and complementary approaches
as well as conventional drugs and surgery. Individual practitioners can be holistic in nature,
but not use CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) and there are CAM practitioners
who use various therapies who do not approach the patient in a holistic way.
7. Innate Healing Power. All people have innate powers of healing in their bodies, minds and
spirits. Integrative health care practitioners evoke and help patients utilize these powers to
affect the healing process.
8. Prevention and treatment. Integrative health care practitioners promote health, prevent
illness and help raise awareness of disease in our lives rather than merely managing
symptoms. An Integrative approach relieves symptoms, modifies contributing factors, and
enhances the patient’s life system to optimize future well-being.
9. Whole person. Integrative health care practitioners view people as the unity of body, mind,
spirit and the systems in which they live.
10. The Healing Power of Love. Integrative health care practitioners strive to meet the patient
with grace, kindness, acceptance, and spirit without condition, as love is life’s most powerful
healer.
“It is not how much you do, but how much LOVE you put into the doing that matters.”
– Mother Teresa
Integrative Medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses care of the whole person
– body, mind, and spirit. The practice of Integrative Medicine integrates conventional and
complementary therapies to promote optimal health and to prevent and treat disease by
addressing contributing factors.
The 10 Principles of Integrative Medical Practice
1. Optimal health is the primary goal of Integrative (Holistic) medical practice. It is the
conscious pursuit of the highest level of functioning and balance of the physical,
environmental, mental, emotional, social and spiritual aspects of human experience, resulting in
a dynamic state of being fully alive. This creates a condition of well-being regardless of the
presence or absence of disease.
2. Learning opportunities. All life experiences including birth, joy, suffering and the dying
process are profound learning opportunities for both patients and health care practitioners.
3. Teaching by Example. Integrative Medicine health care practitioners continually work
toward the personal incorporation of the principles of Integrative health, which then profoundly
influence the quality of the healing relationship.
Teaching by example also puts the practitioner in a place of trying to find balance in their own
life, so that they can be teachers of balance and optimal health.
"Imagine life as a game in which you are juggling five balls in the air. You name
them - work, family, health, friends, and spirit - and you're keeping all of these in
the air. You will soon understand that work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will
bounce back. But the other four balls - family, health, friends, and spirit are made
of glass. If you drop one of these, they will be irrevocably scuffed, marked, nicked,
damaged, or even shattered. They will never be the same. You must understand
that and strive for balance in your life." Brian Dyson, CEO of Coca Cola
Enterprises from 1959-1994
4. Individuality. Integrative Medicine health care practitioners focus patient care on the
unique needs and nature of the person who has an illness rather than the illness that has the
person.
5. Relationship-centered care. The ideal practitioner-patient relationship is a partnership
which encourages patient autonomy, and values the needs and insights of both parties. The
quality of this relationship is an essential contributor to the healing process.
6. Integration of Healing Systems. Integrative health care practitioners embrace a lifetime
of learning about all safe and effective options in diagnosis and treatment. These options come
from a variety of traditions, and are selected in order to best meet the unique needs of the
patient. The realm of choices may include lifestyle modification and complementary approaches
as well as conventional drugs and surgery. Individual practitioners can be holistic in nature,
but not use CAM (complementary and alternative medicine) and there are CAM practitioners
who use various therapies who do not approach the patient in a holistic way.
7. Innate Healing Power. All people have innate powers of healing in their bodies, minds and
spirits. Integrative health care practitioners evoke and help patients utilize these powers to
affect the healing process.
8. Prevention and treatment. Integrative health care practitioners promote health, prevent
illness and help raise awareness of disease in our lives rather than merely managing
symptoms. An Integrative approach relieves symptoms, modifies contributing factors, and
enhances the patient’s life system to optimize future well-being.
9. Whole person. Integrative health care practitioners view people as the unity of body, mind,
spirit and the systems in which they live.
10. The Healing Power of Love. Integrative health care practitioners strive to meet the patient
with grace, kindness, acceptance, and spirit without condition, as love is life’s most powerful
healer.
“It is not how much you do, but how much LOVE you put into the doing that matters.”
– Mother Teresa
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| Glendale CA 91208 Phone: 818.923.1076 Fax: 888.584.9315 |