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Alternative & complementary therapies
Click on the type of therapist from the table below to learn about the general description for the nature of the service. Click the type of practitioner from the list on the right to find your local provider.
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In addition to what is considered to be traditional medicine in the Western World, there are diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine. Such non-traditional practices are known as complementary and alternative medicine (often referred to as "CAM"). Complementary medicine is used together with conventional medicine, and alternative medicine or therapy is used in place of conventional medicine. There has been a further category referred to as Integrative medicine which combines conventional and CAM treatments for which there is evidence of safety and effectiveness.
Among the more common alternative or complementary therapies, and a brief description, are the following:
Allergy elimination focuses on the relationship between undiagnosed allergies and illness. Any interference in the flow of energy creates a blockage in communication between the brain and the body via the nervous system. Clearing this interference will open the energy pathways. Additional information can be found at interesting information including allergies and sensitivities, glossary of terminology, allergy-proof ideas, etc..
Biofeedback is a process that enables an individual to learn how to change physiological activity for the purposes of improving health and performance. Precise instruments measure physiological activity such as brainwaves, heart function, breathing, muscle activity, and skin temperature. These instruments rapidly and accurately "feed back" information to the user. The presentation of this information — often in conjunction with changes in thinking, emotions, and behavior — supports desired physiological changes. Over time, these changes can endure without continued use of an instrument.
Chelation therapy is the process of removing undesirable toxic material, such as arsenic, lead, iron, copper, plutonium and mercury, from the body by the infusion of an organic compound which has ability to drain the metals from your body. The substances can come from "silver" dental fillings, vaccines, food or environmental chemical exposure which, over time, accumulate in our bodies and may cause memory loss or fatigue as well as lead to cancer or vascular disease.
Colon hydrotherapy or colonic irrigation is the practice of cleaning the colon, or lower bowel, usually by means of water administered under low-pressure.
Drugless practitioners believe good health can be obtained without the use of drugs.
EFT or Emotional Freedom Technique also known as Meridian Tapping uses the tips of the fingers to lightly tap various spots located on the face and body to obtain an Emotional Freedom to achieve an alignment between the body's physical energy system and the mind.
Esogetic Colorpuncture involves focusing colored light on acupuncture points on the skin in order to energize healing impulses in physical and energy bodies.
Flower essence therapy is a form of vibrational medicine and essences serve to balance a specific emotional state. Alone or in combination, flower essences provide relief and healing from the stress of everyday life. They offer safe, effective and rapid relief for everyone at any stage of life.
Food sensitivity and health balancing - the practitioner will screen you with the most advanced and comprehensive health screening devices in the world. The system has the ability to accurately screen the body for food sensitivities and any vitamin and mineral imbalances. The screenings are non-invasive and are carried out by measuring the skin impedance over specific acupressure points.
Functional medicine deals with primary prevention and underlying causes instead of symptoms for serious chronic diseases based on certain health care principles. The core principles include a dynamic balance between internal and external factors, patient care rather than disease care, biochemical individuality in the metabolic function derived from genetic and environmental differences and the web-like connections of psychological factors working as an orchestrated network of interconnected systems.
Guided Imagery refers to a variety of techniques, including simple visualization, metaphor and story-telling, fantasy exploration and game playing, dream interpretation, etc. where elements of the unconscious are invited to appear as images that can communicate with the conscious mind. Click here for the contact information for your local Guided imagery practitioner.
Healing Touch has a goal of of restoring harmony and balance in the human energy system by creating an optimal environment to enable the body's innate tendency for healing.
Holistic medicine is the art and science of healing that addresses care of the whole person - body, mind and spirit. Each person is seen as a unique individual and disease is understood to be the result of physical, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental imbalance. Healing, with the role of the therapist as a guide, takes place when the aspects of life are brought into balance.
Homeopathy views health and illness in a holistic manner. All of a patient's symptoms are taken into consideration when taking their case, no matter what the name of the illness. Thus if the patient seeks help for one illness, such as a skin rash, the homeopath will evaluate the disorder in the context of the patient's overall physical and psychological characteristics. Homeopathy can be used to treat many diseases and conditions, as well as using it for general wellness and prevention. Homeopathy seeks to stimulate the body's ability to heal itself by giving very small doses of highly diluted substances. The two major principles of Homeopathy are the principle of similars, which states 'that which can make sick shall heal' - the symptoms caused by repeatedly ingesting a remedy are precisely the symptoms that can be cured with a small dose of that remedy and the principle of the minimum dose wherein the homeopath will use the lowest possible dose, and as few doses as possible, to provoke the immune system to cure. Homeopaths tailor a patient's treatment, according to their individual symptoms, beginning with the emotional and psychological, taking into consideration their genetic and personal history, and then their current physical state.
Hormone therapy can help reverse dysfunctional hormone patterns which affect aging by stimulating the body to heal and rejuvenate.
Hypnotherapy focuses on inward attention and focused concentration. When the mind is concentrated and focused, people are better able to tap into and utilize their inner resources, make personal changes and learn how to better govern their own lives.
Integrative care is a blend of complementary and alternative therapies with traditional Western medicine. The concept of integrative medicine involves not only the relationships with you and your health care providers, but also the relationship between you and your entire body, or a holistic approach to therapy. The philosophy of integrative care and the whole-person approach is designed to treat the person, not just the disease.
Lymphatic drainage is a form of massage to stimulate the lymphatic system to eliminate metabolic waste products, excess fluids and bacteria. What is Lymphedema?
Meditation is a mind-body technique to focus attention and relate to the flow of emotions and thoughts in the mind, the goal of which is to increase calmness and physical relaxation, improve physiological balance, cope with an illness or enhance overall well-being.
Mind-body medicine is an approach to healing that uses the power of thoughts and emotions to positively influence physical health. Various techniques, including biofeedback, cognitive behavioral therapy, meditation, relaxation techniques, hypnosis and spirituality may be used to help create a focused concentration to train the mind.
Natural therapy coaching includes most natural healing techniques and modalities in the field of natural therapies.
Naturopathic medicine is based on the belief that the human body has an innate healing ability. Naturopathic doctors teach their patients to use diet, exercise, lifestyle change and cutting edge natural therapies to enhance their bodies' ability to ward off and combat disease. Among the principles of naturopathy are: let nature heal; identify and treat causes; educate patients; treat the whole person; and prevent illness. What is Naturopathic Medicine?
NET practitioners, Neuro Emotional Technique™, use a mind-body stress-reduction technique that uses a methodology of finding and removing neurological imbalances related to the physiology of unresolved stress. NET is a tool that helps improve mental and physical health by removing blocks to the natural vitalism of the body, “allowing” the body to repair itself naturally.
Neurofeedback uses monitoring devices to provide moment-to-moment information to an individual on the state of their physiological functioning with a focus on the central nervous system and the brain. Neurofeedback training (NFT) has its foundations in basic and applied neuroscience as well as data-based clinical practice. It takes into account behavioral, cognitive, and subjective aspects as well as brain activity.
NLP therapists use Neuro Linguistic Programming to help understand the words we use reflect an inner, subconscious perception of our problems. The therapist will analyze every word and phrase you use in describing your symptoms or concerns about your health as well as examine your facial expressions and body movements to help understand root causes. Using the preconceived notions, they will help remodel thoughts and associations.
Osteopathy uses a "whole person" approach with an understanding as to how all the body's systems are interconnected and affect each other, with a special focus on the musculoskeletal system. Learn more at Osteopathy and Therapies
Pain therapy links traditional, so-called allopathic, medical treatments with varied complementary and alternative treatments. It is a comprehensive system of medicine, which emphasizes wellness and the healing of the whole person (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual), above and beyond the treatment of any specific symptom or disease.
PSYCH-K helps you communicate with the conscious and subconscious minds so you can change self-limiting beliefs into self-enhancing beliefs. This unique process is a blend of various tools for change, some contemporary and some ancient.
Raindrop technique practitioner uses essential plant oils for stress reduction, pain management, first aid, detoxification, enhancing the quality of life and improving performance.
Sound therapy uses sound vibration to change the body's natural form and function by stimulating the energy patterns of the body. The connection between the voice, the ear and the brain must be balanced so that sound vibration can be processed throughout the entire body.
Tapping uses the tips of the fingers to lightly tap various spots located on the face and body to obtain an Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to achieve an alignment between the body's physical energy system and the mind.
