Written by a former medical doctor with experience in both orthodox and alternative medicine, this book aims to provide a clear and balanced outline of the holistic healing approach for both healthcare professionals and general readers. 'Can I help my own recovery by improving my diet, taking more exercise, meditating, having a positive attitude, and reducing my stress levels?' 'Can I use therapies like acupuncture, homoeopathy and herbal medicines as well as drugs and surgery, or even instead of them?' 'Where can I find good information about approaches like these?' 'And why did I get this illness - does it have some meaning and purpose in my life?' Such questions are of vital importance to many of those who are coping with health problems in themselves or in their families, and who want to play an active part in controlling the symptoms and improving the medical prognosis. But many doctors, nurses and other clinicians with an orthodox background feel uncomfortable with them, being unable or unwilling to provide their patients with helpful guidance about 'natural healing' and 'the holistic approach', and sometimes responding in negative ways when they hear these terms. Both mainstream treatments and natural therapies can form part of a holistic programme, and it is seldom helpful to regard orthodox and alternative treatments as polar opposites. But the integrative model which combines the best of both is only practised by a few experts in a few centres, so people on the illness 'journey' who choose to depart from the main highway of orthodox treatment sometimes find themselves on a rather lonely path without clear maps or easy access to support services. This book offers practical guidance about what patients can do to help themselves, what pitfalls to look out for, and how clinicians can provide support. It includes brief reviews of underlying theory, with selected references to other books, websites and the academic literature. It also includes original case histories written by contributors with personal experience of the approaches described. Readers' comments: "Very clear and balanced, not dismissing conventional medicine but allowing and supporting alternatives." "It's a joy to read, it's WHOLE and informative, warm, lovely, precise, elegant and gentle and full of tremendous stories. I loved every single word. Pure gold." "A wonderfully refreshing look at humankind and how the disease process affects us all ... a most worthwhile read."