Here in the UK, about twenty per cent of us will use some form of complementary therapy every year, spending millions of pounds on treatments. This BBC Radio 4 series explores the personal experiences, the scientific debates and the power struggles at the heart of the complementary medicine boom.

Presenter Anna Ford asks why so many of us are attracted to complementary therapies, how they can affect our health and well-being, and whether, in the future, they will ever become fully integrated with NHS care. Along the way we'll discover how even deciding if complementary therapies have a positive effect can be controversial. We'll also meet students studying to be the next generation of therapists to explore why standards of qualification vary so much from discipline to discipline.

Whether you're a sceptic or already convinced of the benefits of medicine beyond the Western orthodoxy, you may find your preconceptions being challenged.

After each programme is broadcast on BBC Radio 4, you'll be able to listen again to it through the website - just choose a programme from our menu and click on the link on the right.

To use listen again, you'll need have a free piece of software called RealPlayer on your computer. If the link doesn't work, visit Audio help from the BBC.

Content last updated: 08/09/2004