Below is a Glossary of some of the systems within Complementary Medicine in alphabetical order. It is impossible at this time to list all of the complementary therapies but we have listed some of the most common. We will be updating on a regular basis.
HEALING
Spiritual Healing is complementary to allopathic treatment. It is the healing of mind, body, and spirit by means of prayer, meditation and the laying on of hands. Laying on of hands healing has been available since the beginning of recorded history. This healing can be effected by contact with the patient or by means of Absent, Remote or Distant Healing. The Healer attunes him/herself as a channel for higher energy, which activates the self-healing power of the patient at all relevant levels of their being.
HELLERWORK
Joseph Heller used deep tissue massage together with psychotherapy and postural re-alignment. A pupil of Dr Ida Rolf (Rolfing), Heller broke away from Rolfing because his technique also used counselling.
HERBAL MEDICINE
Herbs are used in both Eastern and Western medicine. The aim is to use all parts of the herb and particular emphasis in laid on the energetic content of the herbs and its ability to stimulate healing.
Thus the method of picking the herb and the time of day can affect the potency. The whole herb has a wider healing potential than the single active agent used by the pharmaceutical industry.
HOMOEOPATHY
Hippocrates and Samual Hahnemann (1796) are credited with using the homoeopathic principle. This means treating the vital force to enable the body to re-energise it own repair mechanisms. The Homoeopathic remedy does not treat the presenting symptom but the body’s ability to heal itself with the result that prescriptions for the same named disease will probably be different in each case.
HYPNOTHERAPY
This is not just hypnosis but a partnership between practitioner and patient which aims at defining the cause of the problem thereby helping the patient to overcome it in their own way and a time scale of their choice.
IRIDOLOGY
Diagnosis from the iris of the eye which are the exposed nerve endings which are seen as the coloured area. There is little reliable research but qualified practitioners appear able to make a significant contribution to helping the patient to understand those parts of the body which need attention.
KINESIOLOGY
The use of testing muscle strength to find products which disturb the patient’s well-being. Can be used to find which foods are most conducive to health and those which may cause unwanted symptoms. It is also used to find the appropriate natural medicine such as a homoeopathic remedy.
MUSIC THERAPY
Sound and music produce vibrations and these can have marked effects on the healing process.
NATUROPATHY
The Naturopath will have many different treatments to offer but all are based on the concept that the body will heal
itself if given the right stimulus.
NEURO-LINGUISTIC PROGRAMMING
Looks at behavioural traits and bad habits. Treatment provides the patient with verbal instructions to reverse the trends.
NUTRITIONAL THERAPY
The diet can have dramatic influences on our health and well being. If we recognise that the body chemistry of each person is different, the need for different diets is apparent.
ORTHOMOLECULAR THERAPY
Developed by Nobel Prize Winner Linus Pauling who postulated that provided one has the correct level of vitamin, mineral and nutritional input, the body can overcome disease.
OSTEOPATHY
Structure governs function is the tenet of osteopathy. Andrew Taylor Still is given credit for initiating the system at the end of the American Civil War but there is much in common with Chiropractic and the Eastern techniques of ensuring that the skeleton is in correct alignment so that nerves are not pinched.
OXYGEN THERAPY
Forms of oxygen (ozone) have been used in many contexts from water purification to a disinfectant in the bottling industry. As a treatment, it has been recognised that harmful bacteria and viruses can only live in a low oxygen environment. Treatments vary from sitting in a ‘steam’ bath and being surrounded by ozone to treating the blood by passing ozone through it and clearing impurities. Dr Otto Warburg proved that cancer cannot live in a high oxygen environment.
PILATES
Specific exercises to correct the posture first developed by Joseph Pilates in the USA. Now available in the UK.
POLARITY THERAPY
Healing system having much on common with ayurveda. Developed in Austria by Randolph Stone in the 1920s, the idea is that parts of the body have a positive charge whilst others are negatively charged. Treatments consist bring the body into ‘balance’ by using counselling, healing, exercise and nutrition.
PRANIC HEALING
This is another form of Natural Healing. Prana is the Sanskrit word for ‘life force’. The traditional healer interacts with the patient’s aura or energy field and channels healing energy to where healing is required.
QI GONG
This is another form of Natural Healing. Part of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Means energy practice and involves the channelling of the healing energy into the patient.
THE COMPLEMENTARY THERAPY ASSOCIATION
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