“Integrative medicine addresses the root causes of illness and suffering. These root causes involve many aspects of a person’s life, including the physical but also the psychosocial, emotional, and spiritual dimensions as well.”
Philosophical Foundation for Integrative Medicine
The philosophical foundation for integrative medicine derives from a multitude of different medical, philosophical and scientific traditions.
For example, the idea that a person should be treated in his or her wholeness—mind, body and spirit—is a fundamental premise within integrative medicine that has been informed by the patient-centered care movement, biopyschosocial medicine, traditional Chinese medicine and the medicine of the ancient Greeks as well as modern humanistic and transpersonal psychology. Prevention and wellness, important aspects of integrative medicine, are grounded in medical science but they also draw from the fields of nutrition, stress management, physical fitness, and environmental health. This "gathering" of human wisdom in an effort to care for individuals in the best way possible is a key factor in why integrative medicine is both effective and desirable.
Each person has a significant, innate capacity for healing that can be supported and enhanced, and the primary goal of integrative medicine is to maximize this capacity so that each individual experiences optimal vitality and wellness.
Learn more about the philosophy and science that informs integrative medicine: