In search of a Holistic Doctor

The original meaning of doctor comes from Latin, docere, meaning to teach. To have the title of Doctor means to teach, to be a teacher. It wasnt until later that this term was then applied to the world of medical providers and used in the same regard as physician. Physician, according to Merrian-Webster dictionary, means: a person skilled in the art of healing. Holistic, which comes from holism, means, according to the American Heritage dictionary: emphasizing the importance of the whole and the interdependence of its parts; to be concerned with wholes rather than analysis or separation into parts. I believe that a doctor should be a teacher, but not in the conventional sense. A doctor, physician, will meet the person where they are and help facilitate them to reclaim and regain their health! These days, many patients come to us asking if we know of any holistic doctors. I often ask, what do you mean by this? What is it you are looking for? A common response is: I want a doctor who listens to me and who is open to alternative therapies. Sometimes they also say that they would like a doctor who could guide them with their diet or use of supplements. To be a true Holistic Doctor or Physician would mean that a practitioner is skilled in the art of healing. It means the practitioner is patient centered, that is, has only the patients best interest at heart. Such a physician is concerned with the interrelationship of all the parts, or aspects, of the patient; i.e. how the patients emotions, mental faculties

and physical body are all interconnected and continually influencing the whole person and affecting that patients state of being. A holistic doctor listens to their patient and asks questions that allow them to define themselves in relationship to health. Such a physician is able and willing to refer their patient to another provider in order to achieve the best care for the patient. Any licensed health care provider who does not understand the validity of other modalities or who do not refer to another type of therapist or doctor is not a holistic practitioner. In addition, prescribing a lot of supplements or running a lot of alternative tests is not alternative medicine nor does it make a practitioner a holistic doctor. Let us not water down this term of Holistic Doctor. You, as a consumer of health care, should have high expectations of your health care providers! We all work for you; do not settle. At our last board meeting of the Institute of American Acupuncture and Life Medicine, Dr. Duckworth proposed that IAALM be a source from which consumers could locate and communicate with Holistic Practitioners of Health Care from as many different disciplines as possible. To this aim, a committee is being formed to do just that.

With gratitude always,

Jason R. Hackler Thomas E. Duckworth