Culture and complementary therapies

Abstract

Complementary therapies are becoming increasingly popular in cultures dominated by biomedicine. Modalities are often extracted from various healing systems and cultural contexts and integrated into health care, expanding the focus from treatment of disease to the promotion of health. The cultural aspects of biomedicine are presented and compared and contrasted with other healing systems. Three healing systems; traditional Chinese medicine, Yoga, with roots in Ayurvedic medicine and Shamanic healing illustrate these fundamental differences in approaches to healing. A reverse example of isolating one healing intervention from biomedicine and interpreting it through other cultural lenses is presented. Implications are drawn for practice and research.