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When people decide to go and see a Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) therapist, how do they make that decision? Do they weigh up all the available scientific evidence and come to a logical conclusion about what's likely to work for their particular problems or are there other reasons for choosing something outside mainstream medicine?
If people look for scientific evidence for CAM then they may well, at the moment, be disappointed to find that there isn't much information that tells them what CAM works for what disease or disorder. This is partly because, compared to conventional medicine, there hasn't yet been enough research to prove the effectiveness of treatments, but it's also because there are some difficulties in applying the methods of conventional medical research to CAM treatments.
There are a number of causes for this, of which three are most important:
- The underlying systems that describe health and illness and inform the aims of treatment
- The mechanisms by which treatment is believed to work
- The nature of the CAM consultation which is acknowledged to have potential psychotherapeutic qualities in its own right
In contrast, CAM systems such as homeopathy, acupuncture and medical herbalism see illness as a reflection of a breakdown of the body's own natural self-regulating, healing systems. In homeopathy, the vital force is said to be responsible for maintaining health, combating disease by recruiting the body's natural tendency to cure itself. In the homeopathy model, disease occurs when the vital force is not working efficiently to keep the balance of health. In homeopathy, treatment is aimed at stimulating the vital force such that it is powerful enough to stimulate the natural healing powers of the body to overcome disease and restore health. In the Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) view, including Chinese herbalism and acupuncture, a balance between Yin and Yang forces is required to maintain health. The flow of qi (or chi) an energy force through invisible meridians in the body is said to maintain the balance of these forces and illness occurs when qi cannot flow properly through the meridians. In TCM, treatment is aimed at restoring the balance of Yin and Yang and getting the flow of qi working properly.
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