What is the holistic approach to healthcare?

Among diverse societies, from ancient Greek to Chinese, Indian to Native American, caregivers and care receivers believed in holistic health. Key to their practices and beliefs was their reverence for the following concept: personal health depended upon both internal and external harmony. Internal stability involved mind/body/inner life integration. External harmony with the environment was also necessary. Health emerged when both were in balance. Symptoms and disease emerged when these relationships were disrupted and fractured.

Holistic means looking at the whole person when evaluating their health status. This means to think about their family, work, stress, environment, childhood, emotions and trauma as part of the work up and when making a treatment plan.