Holistic health practitioners take an integrative approach to medicine, incorporating traditional and natural remedies for treatment options.
All-round professionals possess qualities such as compassion and sensitivity, dedication to lifelong learning, curiosity, open-mindedness and excellent verbal communication skills. In addition, they tend to avoid playing the insurance game and charge fair fees.
1. Ask for Referrals
Finding a holistic health practitioner often comes down to getting a referral from someone you trust – be it friends, family or other healthcare professionals. Researching may also help avoid unpleasant experiences or encountering practitioners that don’t offer what you require.
Holistic practitioners tend to offer a comprehensive array of healing techniques, from massage therapy and acupuncture, through nutrition coaching and herbal medicine, all the way up to herbal remedies and beyond. It isn’t unusual for holistic doctors to practice multiple modalities within one office setting as many of them combine multiple approaches as their preferred means of treatment.
Holistic healthcare practitioners specialize in treating cancer, autoimmune diseases and arthritis holistically by targeting both symptoms and causes simultaneously. Their physicians tend to have more experience identifying complex factors that contribute to conditions and how different diseases interact with one another.
Holistic healthcare practitioners tend to offer more effective solutions than their medical counterparts, which tend to treat only symptoms rather than root causes of diseases. This is one reason patients choose holistic healthcare practitioners.
At its core, holistic physicians offer honest assessments of your current state of health. While this might mean hearing some harsh truths that go against what you currently believe about wellness, in the long run it will all pay off!
As with any healthcare decision, holistic doctors can be found by asking current healthcare providers for referrals, searching online reviews or asking the practitioner directly. If you are dealing with a serious condition don’t be afraid to bring up with your physician about what support and care is necessary and discuss with him or her before selecting one based on credentials alone.
2. Look Online
Websites or practice brochures of practitioners usually outline their credentials and training, hours, and fees structure. A genuine practitioner will likely be proud to show off their credentials; however, you should keep in mind that different practitioners offer various approaches; not all possess equal qualifications.
Once you have selected a practitioner to see, schedule an appointment. When visiting their office space and listening to how staff treats you and listens to what your gut instinct tells you about the practitioner, be mindful of whether you feel safe enough expressing yourself freely and openly with them and the staff.
How a holistic health practitioner works will depend on their practitioner, but in general they use multiple modalities to treat their patients. They look for the root cause of disease or symptom and offer additional treatments such as diet, exercise, herbal medicine and acupuncture in order to heal the patient. Aside from medical training, good holistic health practitioners possess high levels of empathy and understanding as well as being dedicated to lifelong learning; typically being very curious yet open-minded individuals with outstanding verbal communication skills as well as sensitive compassion practices themselves by being very attentive towards their own health care.
Holistic practitioners tend to forgo working within the insurance system and instead provide their services directly to consumers at very fair fees, providing care without copays and deductibles which can become prohibitively costly.
When selecting a holistic health practitioner, be sure they have at least completed an accredited training program and earned certification. Furthermore, ask about any specialized credentials relevant to your case; this will give you confidence that they possess both knowledge and experience to address it effectively.
3. Check the Credentials
If you’re interested in becoming a holistic health practitioner, it’s essential that you choose an accredited program from ACHS that best matches your educational and work experience needs. An admissions and student services advisor at ACHS can create a guided pathway designed specifically for you with courses matched to your learning style and previous education/work experiences.
Holistic health practitioners are licensed doctors who have the skill set needed to treat patients using both conventional medicine and alternative therapies. Holistic practitioners can identify the source of their patient’s discomfort, develop an appropriate plan, integrate alternative treatments into traditional healthcare services and communicate with primary care providers so all the patient’s health needs are being fulfilled.
People experiencing medical conditions that necessitate lifestyle or diet changes often find the changes difficult to adapt to; such changes require time and energy most don’t possess. When these problems arise, people often turn to holistic health practitioners in search of relief but unsure how.
Holistic health practitioners usually begin by gathering medical history information before conducting an overall wellness evaluation, including physical exams, diagnostic tests like blood tests or urine samples and even MRI scans if necessary. They’ll also consider emotional and spiritual wellbeing, encouraging their patient to use meditation or yoga as ways of managing stress.
When selecting a holistic health practitioner, it’s crucial that you find one with extensive knowledge and experience in their field. Review credentials of any potential practitioners; investigate where they studied, their length of practice time and reputation as well as membership status in any professional organizations or if insurance providers have credentialed them as in-network providers.
4. Look for Experience
Holistic health practitioners tend to possess extensive knowledge in multiple fields of alternative medicine. This may include anatomy and physiology, nutrition and biochemistry, stress management and relaxation techniques, herbal and natural remedies as well as physical bodywork; giving them a solid grasp on their craft. This ensures they remain highly knowledgeable and skilled practitioners.
Most importantly, holistic health practitioners are dedicated to lifelong learning – this trait makes them adept at staying current on all the changes occurring in alternative medicine as it progresses and develops. They’re great listeners with strong verbal communication skills who tend to be compassionate and sensitive individuals.
Practitioners understand the body is comprised of mind, body, and spirit and how these three parts interact with one another. Their focus often centers on treating the source rather than treating symptoms only; this approach has led to an increase in holistic health practices among individuals looking for something beyond just prescription medicines from doctors.
When selecting a holistic health practitioner, it’s essential to do your homework and do a bit of due diligence. Like when selecting any physician, make sure they possess all of the required credentials, education and experience before choosing them as this will guarantee you receive optimal care. Also ask friends and family members for recommendations; they might have insight as to which practitioner would best meet your needs.
As alternative medicine continues to flourish, so will its need for regulation of practitioners. This trend can already be seen with professions like acupuncturists and massage therapists being required by Colorado to obtain licenses before expanding to cover other forms of modalities as time progresses.
