Product Description

This comprehensive sourcebook provides a systematic, unbiased comparison of the predominant medical traditions and presents, in an easy-to-understand format, everything a lay person needs to know to understand the differences, strengths, and limitations of each approach National print ads.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72433 in Books
• Published on: 1997-12-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 384 pages

From Publishers Weekly
A balanced view and comprehensive scope distinguish this guide to eight leading alternative health care approaches: traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda (Hindu healing), homeopathy, naturopathy, mind/body medicine, osteopathy, chiropractic and massage therapy, or body work. For each, Collinge, the clinical supervisor of a California cancer support center that utilizes mind/body therapy, adeptly explains the underlying principles, describes the techniques employed and highlights the available scientific studies. He also poses and answers a series of questions on each method's strengths and weaknesses, its cost, how it relates to other forms of medicine, what to expect from the practitioner-patient relationship and how to go about choosing a practitioner, e.g., what training and credentials to look for. Concise case studies of patients who have had success with the methods are interspersed throughout. While demonstrating a distinctly positive attitude toward each of these alternative approaches, Collinge does not denigrate the practice of Western medicine, a stance that lends even more authority to this solidly informative compendium, which includes an extensive bibliography. Author tour.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
Combining well-referenced scientific evidence with case reports, Collinge, a clinical supervisor at a cancer support center that uses mind-body therapy, explores the efficacy of eight types of healing systems: Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, homeopathy, naturopathy, mind/body, osteopathy, chiropractic, and massage/body work. Arguing that "no single tradition has all the answers," he emphasizes the growing importance of integrative medicine.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Collinge describes the key principles, strengths and limitations, and costs of, and advises on choosing a practitioner for, eight types of alternative medicine: Chinese, Ayurveda, naturopathy, homeopathy, mind-body, osteopathy, chiropractic, and massage therapy and bodywork. The role of nutrition figures extensively in several of the eight, and Collinge is also informative on the varieties and the major groupings within each type (he does, however, overlook the National Association of Chiropractic Medicine). The text includes many brief case histories and reports pertinent studies funded by the new Office of Alternative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Pointing out that "clearly no single tradition has all the answers," Collinge stresses the growing importance of integrative medicine. Many libraries will want to add his overview to reference as well as circulating collections. William Beatty

Customer Reviews

MyShelf.com Book Reviewer
Each year, millions of consumers visit their family physician. Often this experience leaves them with frustration, fear, and unanswered questions. Their dissatisfaction has led many to seek out other forms of health care.

Alternative medicine has been practiced for centuries - and today its acceptance is skyrocketing. The use of alternative medicine allows the consumer the freedom to choose what type of health care they feel would help benefit their illness. They can become experts by reading a book, surfing the Internet, or attending a local seminar.

In THE AMERICAN HOLISTIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION COMPLETE GUIDE TO ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, readers will discover a more in-depth look at the various alternative therapies of Ayurveda, Chinese medicine, naturopathic medicine, homeopathy, mind/body medicine, osteopathic medicine, chiropractor, massage therapy, and bodywork.

One of the key elements of this book that I found so fascinating was the use of true-to-life success stories of people who had tried one of these time old methods and found it cured or helped with what ailed them. It even gave me the opportunity to learn the benefits and the cost of each one of the treatments. This book has been a wonderful resource in helping me write my college thesis paper. I feel anyone who is looking for a better understanding of any or all of these alternative therapies will not find a more informative book.

Thorough yet very accessible guide to alternative medicines.
Collinge takes the "hoodoo" out of alternative medicines and provides a very clear and practical guide to the various treatments. His inclusion of case studies is particularly effective in demonstrating what one could expect from a form of treatment. A very worthwhile reference for anyone concerned about health

Holistic Health, but Allopathic in nature
A good book to use as a basic reference for those who believe holistic health is voo-doo or scary, but still a book that calls on the medical profession to define courses they don't understand. A better book on holistic health, and the combined approach of body, mind, and spirit, is "Forget The Cures, Find The Cause," which takes the reader through modalities in the alternative health field, but also incorporates the mind and spirit.