them, superimposing one upon another in layer
after layer of complementary perspectives and
techniques, we can arrive at an amalgam that is
far more potent and thorough than any one of
them taken alone.”
The former president of the American Holistic
Nursing Association, Veda Andrus, said resistance
to alternative medicine in part is related to the
“set ways” of the American health care system
and lack of education. But those set ways are
changing as the concept of mind-body connection
grows stronger; even West Point “plebes” are
instructed in The West Point Candidate Book,by
William L. Smallwood (Beacon Books, Ariz.,
1990), to realize that academic, military, and vir-
tually any success evolves from a positive mindset
in the face of difficulty and daunting challenge.
Chapter 3 is entitled “Mental Preparation Is Most
Important.”
One of the most influential and beloved propo-
nents of positive life change based on a better-
educated attitude is the author and television
personality Dr. Phillip C. McGraw, Ph.D. In Self
Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out (Simon
and Schuster Source, New York, 2001), McGraw
gives the basis for a self-improvement strategy
that easily applies to choosing health care: “Trust
that you are the best judge, by far, of what is best
for you. At the same time, be ruthless about test-
ing your thoughts. Verify that your own internal
responses and interpretations will stand up to the
test of authenticity.... Give yourself permission
to generate as many alternative responses as pos-
sible.... Pursue only those that are Triple-A
(Authentically Accurate Alternative). Replace any
response that causes you trouble and pain with
one that moves you toward what you want, need,
and deserve.” With all that is available to us in our
hungry-for-information culture, McGraw advo-
cates accountability and the courage to identify
and evaluate options. “Insight without action,” he
wrote, “is worse than being totally asleep at the
switch.”
As an antidote for lack of awareness or infor-
mation, the present Encyclopedia of Complementary
and Alternative Medicineprovides a comprehensive
source of definitions, explanations, and perspec-
tives from ancient to modern in an accessible for-
mat. If you come across an isolated term pertain-
ing to alternative or complementary medicine,
you can look it up within these pages for identifi-
cation and cross-reference. The Appendixes also
provide at-a-glance information guides on various
aspects of the integrative approach to both well-
ness and illness.
Part of gaining perspective on the current
American view of alternative medicines lies in a
glimpse at some pertinent statistics provided by
the Foundation for the Advancement of Innova-
tive Medicine (FAIM):- Sixty-nine percent of Americans use unconven-
tional medical therapies (Stanford University
National Survey, 1998). - Sixty-seven percent of health maintenance orga-
nizations (HMOs) offer at least one form of com-
plementary alternative care. - Sixty percent of physicians have referred
patients to complementary care practitioners. - Twenty-nine health insurers and HMOs cover
alternative therapies, including Blue Cross of
Washington and Alaska, Blue Cross of Califor-
nia, California Pacific, Catholic HealthCare
West, HealthNet, Kaiser Permanente, Mutual of
Omaha, Oxford Health Plans, and Prudential.
There is also an organization called Alternative
Health Benefit Services, based in California,
that is geared toward creating greater credibility
and access for less invasive, more natural
health care, and to enable all Americans to
select the type of medical care and physi-
cian/medical provider of their choice. The
group is also parent to Holistic Health Insurance
& Financial Services, Alternative Health Insur-
ance Administrators, the National Marketing
Association, Alliance for Alternatives in Health-
care, Alliance for Natural Health, Actuarially
Sound Benefit Consultants, and the Holistic
Health Network. - Chiropractors are licensed in all 50 states, and 11
states mandate that health plans include chiro-
practic benefits. - Sixty-four percent of all medical schools offer
courses in alternative medicines. - Eighty percent of medical students want training
in alternative medicines.
Introduction xix