Nexus, Colorado's Holistic Health and Spirituality Journal

Guide to Complementary Medicine
Edited by Roz Brown

Welcome to 2003. Last year proved to be more than a little stressful for Americans. While recovering from 9/11/2001, we were warned weekly to anticipate more violence, more death. Late in the year we feared for strangers, friends and loved ones as a sniper terrorized the D.C. area. In Colorado and much of the West the middle of the year brought unrelenting drought followed by frightening and devastating wildfires. But for all our grief, daily headlines from around the world reminded us that we are still, for the most part, the most privileged people in the world. For one thing, we have access to superior medical care, and a vast array of alternative or complementary therapies to help us cope, prevent serious illness, improve our health, and heal our minds.

The Nexus guide offers you a variety of techniques, systems, philosophies, approaches, and therapies, some relatively recent and others ancient. Be advised that alternative medicine is often referred to as anything outside the realm of conventional medicine. Complementary medicine, on the other hand, combines the alternative with the conventional. Many of the therapies listed in our glossary and the accompanying toolbox incorporate the still larger holistic unification of mind and body.

We offer one caveat: Be discriminating when choosing a doctor, therapist, technique or therapy. Trust your instincts, but first do your research.

Toolbox of Complementary Healing

In addition to whole systems of healing, the range of other modalities available to consumers increases each year. We include these healing techniques in our toolbox because they are often, but not always, used in conjunction with the primary systems of alternative care. Some of these techniques are ancient, others have evolved from traditional therapies, and a few are new entries which may or may not stand the test of time.

Complementary Medicine Techniques & Toolbox

Sources:
The Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine, An Illustrated Encyclopedia of Natural Healing, by C. Norman Shealy, M.D. Ph.D.; New Choices in Natural Healing, edited by Bill Gottlieb; Encyclopedia of Alternative Health Care, by Kristin Gottschalk Olsen; The Best of Alternative Medicine, by Rick Chillot and Susan Smith, Alternative Medicine, The Definitive Guide, compiled by the Burton Goldberg Group, and New Age Journal, A Glossary of Therapies.

Guide to Complementary Medicine Edited by Roz Brown

Toolbox of Complementary Healing

Guide to Complementary Medicine
Edited by Roz Brown