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Fiction: It’s just a spiritual approach to healing.

Fact: Holistic healing does not just focus on the ailing parts. It treats the client as a whole. This is actually a very pragmatic approach to health and healing.

Not surprisingly, “holism” is derived from the word “whole.” It essentially began with Hippocrates (ca. 460 BC to ca. 370 BC), who is often regarded as the father of medicine. In his writings on health and healing, he insisted that physicians diagnose the state of the person, rather than just the disease. Holism rests upon the notion that a person’s mind and body are always connected and constantly interacting with one another. It strives to observe the relationship between the parts and contextualize them as elements of a greater whole.

The holistic approach looks at the big picture of a client’s suffering. In the process, they uncover a central theme or metaphor that describes the disease and its symptoms. A physical ailment is understood to be a subjective expression of a client’s emotional suffering.

Did that bad break-up trigger the bad cough? Holistic medicine certainly believes so. In this vein, holism also acknowledges that each person experiences a disease differently, and for different reasons. This means that a client’s therapy will be specifically designed to treat their individual malaise.

Holistic healers are supportive guides who foster self-awareness. People undergoing a holistic treatment are counselled on how to improve their relationship with their social and natural environments, and how to heal themselves. Healing requires change, and holism embraces this transformation.

In terms of treatment, many therapies fall under the holistic umbrella. Some of them are described in this section. From one method to the next, the goal is always the same: for a harmonious mind to foster a healthy body.