This book presents attitudes, information, and tools for a holistic approach to medicine, health, and mental health. In our discussions among ourselves and with the contributing authors we defined three aspects of a holistic approach. First, such an approach involves expanding our focus to include the many personal, familial, social, and environmental factors that promote health, prevent illness, and encourage healing. Second, a holistic approach views the patient as an individual person, not as a symptom-bearing organism. This attitude emphasizes the self-responsibility of the person for his or her health and the importance of mobilizing the person's own health capacities, rather than treating illness only from the outside. Third, the holistic approach tries to make wise use of the many diagnostic, treatment, and health modalities that are available in addition to the standard materia medica- including alternative medical and healing systems as well as psychological techniques and physical modalities. Some of these methods of treatment and health practices are already accepted, others are accepted but not applied in practice, and still others need further research to explore the range of their uses.
