I am impressed with results, not ideology, and I'm not troubled by the apparent contradictions in combining a biomedical approach with alternative care. I know a homeopath who struggled for weeks to treat a case of giardiasis. After the patient had lost 30 pounds to the disease, she went to her family doctor and was given metronidazole. She recovered in three days. There are limitations to alternative care, and I would never abandon effective biomedical therapies.
Integrative medicine seeks balance.
I want the best of biological therapy combined with the best of mind-body therapy and the most artful manipulation of the placebo effect. Integrative medicine provides that combination. I believe that treatments enthusiastically administered by charismatic doctors have a good chance of improving patients' conditions regardless of scientific basis. At the least, integrative medicine can make effective use of that insight. And at its best, integrative medicine allows its practitioners to offer biologically effective therapies enthusiastically, within the powerful context of a respectful, caring relationship.