Whole Systems of Complementary & Alternative Medicine

Whole systems of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM, WS-CAM) include traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), classical homeopathy, Ayurveda, and naturopathy.

For basic definitions and background on whole systems of CAM, please visit the National Institutes of Health National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine website. Click here to read their WS-CAM backgrounder.

Scientific researchers have encountered limitations in applying the reductionistic methods of biomedical science to studying interventions that involve coordinated packages of multimodal care and capturing the complete nature of changes across the person as a whole system. The randomized control trial design that isolates the specific biological effect of a treatment such as a drug does not capture the full nature of the CAM treatment in its own context or the patterns of patient outcomes reported by practitioners.

Although we acknowledge the importance and place of reductionism in the research endeavor, we note the equally important role of bringing a more interdisciplinary and holistic scientific perspective into focus for rigorous and complete studies of whole systems of CAM.

A central feature of a broader point of view is recognition of the relevance of the conceptual and applied work emerging in the science of complex adaptive nonlinear dynamical systems and networks.

For a general philosophical introduction to the holistic thinking of the systems-theory driven scientific approach, consult the following monograph:

• Laszlo, E. The Systems View of the World: A Holistic Vision for Our Time. Hampton Press, 1996.

For a non-technical introduction to complexity and network science, consult the following books:

• Gleick, J. Chaos: Making a New Science. Penguin, 2008.

• Barabasi, A-L. Linked: How Everything is Connected to Everything Else and What It Means. Plume, 2003.

• Mitchell, M. Complexity: A Guided Tour. Oxford, 2009.

• Waldrop, MM. Complexity: The Emerging Science at the Edge of Order and Chaos. Simon & Schuster, 1992.

Relevant Texts on Complexity and Related Topics:

• Alon, U. An Introduction to Systems Biology: Design Principles of Biological Circuits. Chapman & Hall/CRC, 2006.

• Bar-Yam, Y. Dynamics of Complex Systems. Westview Press, 2003.

• Guastello, S., Koopmans, M., Pincus, D. (eds). Chaos and Complexity in Psychology: The Theory of Nonlinear Dynamical Systems. Cambridge University Press, 2008.

• Newman, M., Barabasi, A.L., Watts, D.J. The Structure and Dynamics of Networks. Princeton University Press, 2006.