What is the difference between alternative, complementary, and integrative therapies?
Alternative medicine, complementary medicine, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and integrative medicine are all in common usage to describe medical modalities outside of Western medicine. Having so many names can be quite confusing, especially since the real difference between the terms has more to do with how they are used than the types of modalities themselves. CAM is the abbreviation that is commonly used to describe therapeutic modalities that fall outside the common definition of Western medicine. The confusion comes from the fact that the same modality can be called alternative if it is used instead of a Western medical therapy, complementary if it is used in conjunction with a Western medical therapy, and integrative if both Western and other therapies are managed under the auspices of a single practitioner, usually a Western medical doctor. Here are three scenarios that might help explain the distinctions between alternative, complementary, and integrative therapi
