A holistic doctor is a fully trained medical doctor (just like your general practitioner) – with additional training in one or more areas of complementary medicine.

They can address typical medical needs like traditional medical doctors. However, they hold on to principles of holistic medicine that apply alternative methods to encourage health on an emotional, physical, and even spiritual level for an enhanced quality of life.

Holistic medicine considers the complete person – physically, psychologically, socially, and emotionally – in the management and prevention of disease.

It is underpinned by the concept that our well-being relies not just on what is going on in our body physically (in terms of illness or disease), but also on the close interrelation between your body’s physiology and our psychological, emotional, social, and environmental state.

These different states can be equally important for well-being. That’s why they should be managed together so that a person is treated as a whole. A holistic approach means that the doctor is informed about a patient’s whole life situation.

A holistic doctor, also known as an integrative medicine doctor, goes beyond just patients’ symptoms in an effort to identify the underlying root cause of any symptoms or disease.

They will integrate both conventional (pharmaceutical) medicines when absolutely necessary along with complementary medicines as part of their treatment, considering all factors that can influence both physical health as well as your emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.

A holistic doctor may still prescribe medications and refer for surgery when absolutely necessary but will also support you with a combination of vitamins, nutrients, herbal medicine and dietary and lifestyle changes for longterm health.

An excellent holistic doctor should be knowledgeable and well-rounded in various modalities – with the ability to identify and address metabolic and biochemical disorders, allergies, sensitivities, and nutrient deficiencies.