How do allopathic medicine and complementary/alternative medicine (CAM) differ?
From the allopathic perspective, health is the absence of disease and the purpose of medicine is to cure the disease. Mind and body are treated as separate entities and disease results from external causes. Healing occurs through the application of outside agents, such as drugs, surgery, and radiation; and healing is aggressive and quick. The physician has a paternalistic relationship with the client in allopathic medicine. From the Complementary/Alternative Medicine (CAM) perspective, health is a state of well-being characterized by mind/body balance. The emphasis is on health maintenance and disease prevention, and mind and body are as one. Disease originates from within as the result of imbalances. The body has a natural ability to heal itself, and treatment consists of non-invasive therapies such as lifestyle change. In CAM, healing is a slow, natural process; and the practitioner and client have a collaborative, equal power relationship.
