Holistic medicine is oriented to the care of the person and not to the disease, to the cause and not to the symptom, to the system and not to the organ. Let’s find out better.

>   What is holistic medicine

>   How does it work?

>   What does holistic medicine cure?

>   For whom it is useful

>   The law in Italy and abroad

>   Associations and reference bodies for holistic medicine

What is holistic medicine

The term holism comes from the Greek όλος , olos, which means “totality, everything” . Holism in medicine represents a “global” state of health, the union of mind, body, environment and society. The search for health is oriented to the person and not to the disease, to the cause and not to the symptom, to the system and not to the organ, to rebalance rather than to cure, stimulating the body’s natural self-healing process. This type of approach determines that the treatments it implements are aimed not only at healing the person, but at preventing the appearance of a certain type of disorder, and at preserving and improving the general state of health. The holistic disciplines, and various disciplines fall into this terminology (massages, reflexology, naturopathy, “energy limbs”, osteopathy , etc.) are concerned with preserving, maintaining and helping to recover the optimal state of psycho-physical well-being; this differentiates them from the Sanitary Arts proper (allopathic medicine, physiotherapy, etc.).

How does it work?

The human being is not seen by this type of medicine as just a physical body, but is both body, mind and spirit . Only by understanding this unity can the being in its totality be cured, that is, rebalanced with itself, with the environment in which it lives and with the universe itself. It follows that holistic medicine not only uses the head, but also the heart, sees the state of malaise and pain not necessarily in a negative way, but as an awareness of the individual, a passage once passed which one arrives at a higher level, one has taken an extra step towards improvement and healing. Awareness is a step towards healing itself. To help us along this path, holistic medicine makes use ofvarious techniques , which come from ancient knowledge such as Chinese, Ayurvedic and Tibetan medicines , or take into account the flow of energies, as the medicine of the kahuna of Hawaii and the medicine of the Maya do . Many of the so-called natural therapies are included among holistic medicines, such as aromatherapy, chromotherapy, Reiki, crystal therapy or Bach flowers , among others. This type of medicine also believes that the removal of energy blocks, often emotional, allows a return to the normal state of well-being, to the natural psychophysical balance of the individual. The holistic operatorhe is not a doctor and even less can or must carry out activities of medical relevance, but he is a figure of “wellness educator”. It may happen that the action of a holistic operator, in cases where opportunities and conditions arise, support and assist with official medical therapy.

What does holistic medicine cure?

The consultant, operator or holistic counselor is responsible for directing the patient towards a deep search for himself, starting from the base that the more you know, the more you discover useful tools for treatment. The human body, due to the incessant rhythms to which it is often subjected, accumulates stress, which is then somatized, causing weakening of the immune defenses and the onset of various disorders which, over time, can turn into diseases . Here, holistic medicine wants to interrupt this chain, also acting in a preventive way. For example, start with a simple massageantistress reactivates the endorphin process which in turn helps to rebalance and restore the body’s immune defenses. Then you can move on to the study of breathing: there are many points that are important to consider. The ailments that holistic medicine treats are varied, both physical and psychological , being holistic medicine more a philosophy of life than a “medicine” in the strict sense of the term. The pathologies range from a common cold to back pain , to other more serious ones, often in conjunction with other treatments, even traditional ones; the approach is total, it does not act only on the disorder itself, but on the psychological and spiritual well-being of the person who has to face a period of his life with an illness.

For whom it is useful

Far from being methodical limited to a circle of mystical or religious beliefs and faiths, those of holistic medicine are simple realities that everyone can experience, mere experience. All people feel the need to listen to themselves, to relax, and often there are those who begin to feel that it is time to act on the difficulties of life from another point of view.. A holistic approach is therefore perfect for those who want to abandon old habits and vices, motivate themselves to change and overcome a difficult time. From a purely social point of view, the holistic approach allows the subject to learn to manage relationships with other people, to improve their self-esteem and to achieve set goals, such as the deep exploration of their own spirituality in view of achieving the harmony and inner peace.

The law in Italy and abroad

The number of citizens who use this type of medicine is growing sharply, even in Western countries. In Italy about 9 million people use it every year, and the number of doctors who specialize and practice them is increasing. For this reason, companies and organizations that deal with various forms of holistic medicine are also growing. The various bills presented to Parliament try to support these forms of activities and practices, in some cases also providing for their official teaching in universities. At present, most of these practices do not concern the diagnostic procedure, but only the therapeutic one, thus various problems arise at a deontological and legislative level. In short, the holistic practitioner can exercise his profession when giving advice for the well-being of the person, but he does not have to administer treatment. It is only when this operator crosses into a professional field that has the typical connotations of the health professions, the risk is that of contravening article 348 of the criminal code and, or abusive exercise of the protected professions, for which the special qualification of the state.

Associations and reference bodies

There are many associations and schools that offer various courses, all connected to the holistic discipline. Just to name a few:  AIMO , Italian Association of Holistic Medicine; Fiamo (Italian Federation of Homeopathic Associations and Doctors); Siom, Italian Society of Homeopathy and Holistic Medicine; SIPNEI , the Italian Society of Psycho Neuro Endocrine Immunology, promotes the study of the human organism in its entirety and in its fundamental relationship with the environment, in the broadest sense of the term.