Vincent Di Stefano points out in his book Holism and Complementary Medicine ‘…the concept of holism that underpins complementary medicine practice is not a recent development’, as indicated by this historical statement “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” (Aristotle, 384–322 BC)
Aristotle’s statement appears simple but the more it is consider the more complex it become as we investigate what those parts are in relation to human ailments.
In my experience health is about a state of being that involves a level of peace with all of the parts of the world around us.
I see that the role of a practitioner (within their scope of practice) is to help a client in seeking balance within their lives optimising their health. In my view it is not a practitioner’s role to impose their view of health on another, only to trigger a balancing process as this statement suggests ‘…The ripples will do the rest’ (From Vincent Di Stefano preface of his book when quoting Mahatma Gandhi).