Alternative, naturopathic and holistic providers included here are:
Alternative medicine may mean any or all of a variety of non-traditional approaches to health care and the treatment of disease. Holistic medicine means the entire or "whole" person is considered, not just the specific illness or problem. That is, the psychological, dietary, social and cultural factors are considered along with the physical. Naturopathic medicine, homeopathy and Chinese medicine are all fall under the alternative medicine umbrella.
Traditional western medicine usually does not consider that alternative practices are valuable. However, complementary medicine (using alternative methods along with western or allopathic medicine) has become more accepted in Europe, and is gaining acceptance in the US.
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