|
We are blessed in this age to be presented with another approach to choices in the healthcare of our animals.
There is a larger and more generous kind of medicine, one that combines conventional and holistic therapies, sophisticated veterinarian medicine, combined with respectful, compassionate and incredibly diverse therapies. This new medicine is referred to as Integrative Medicine, and combines the best of both the Allopathic and Holistic treatments for animals.
Integrative Therapy makes use of the most sophisticated modern diagnostic techniques and research studies, knows the great value of necessary surgery and drugs, but sees them as emergency and last resort resources and not always first choices. Integrative Therapy takes knowledge and wisdom from the learning, experience and history accumulated over thousands of years and spanning all cultures. It has been said that Integrative Medicine is a harmonious blend of modern technology and ancient wisdom, powerful and compassionate care, taking from all cultures, high technology and indigenous and folk healing traditions.
Integrative Therapy treats each animal as a unique individual with a complete set of physical, mental, emotional, spiritual makeup in a specialized social and environmental circumstance. It takes into consideration that each of these dimensions contribute not only to illness, but also to wellness. Integrative Medicine is the process of collaborative partnership of treatment where all parts of the animal's nature is considered. It is also based on the idea that a body in a depleted state is a victim, and a body in peak health with vibrant cell activity can recover from injury or illness much faster and easier with fewer side effects. Therefore, education is a key factor in Integrative Medicine.
Integrative Therapy has such a deep well of resources to draw from. The world's greatest and most ancient healing traditions, the latest scientific research and the great power of love and are powerful combination. In recent years, many conventional practitioners have become interested in more non-traditional methods of treatments as they have faced many unanswered questions in their practices. Although they have experienced success in particularly life-threatening emergencies, acute conditions and surgical interventions, the majority of cases that are chronic do not have such positive results. Drug side-effects, debilitating deadly new infections, overuse of antibiotics that cause a new enemy of antibiotic resistant bacteria and surgical procedures that may be used before other options are considered, anti-inflammatory drugs that routinely damage the digestive systems - the list is endless. Many of the medical procedures offered to treat animals are symptomatic when used to treat chronic problems. With all the medical knowledge and experience, conventional medical science seemed to be limited in many ways. There seemed to be a missing piece for many practitioners. Veterinarians were also being asked about alternatives to their procedures; procedures that were often prohibitively expensive. Treatments could be extremely painful with long-term side effects that were perhaps as serious as the original problem. Owners were becoming more educated and demanding more information. As people started becoming more aware of holistic and natural therapies for their own conditions, they wanted to know more about the same treatments for their animals. They also wanted to be more involved in the healthcare of their animals and at the same time, be provided with more options.
Animal owners are often limited and even restricted by the expense of medical tests, not to mention the toll it takes on the animal. Many veterinarians, with all their knowledge and technical skill, have been discouraged with the limitations placed on their practice and are embracing the philosophy of treating the animal as an emotional being and allowing the owner to become more involved in the healing and well-being of the animal. For many years natural therapies may have been considered suspect by the medical community because they were not taught as part of the accepted curriculum, written in their journals and pushed by the drug companies to veterinarian practices. However, as many thoughtful and conscious practitioners began to see the limitations of their practice and the well-being of animals began to raise in their awareness, a shift in consciousness began to take place. Integrative Therapy has broadened the horizon in the healthcare choices and well being of animals.
Integrative Therapy draws from the highest level of research and technical knowledge while tapping into the well of wisdom from the ancients. This new model appreciates the great value of surgery, drugs and modern diagnostic test. It makes use of the most sophisticated knowledge that medical science has to offer, yet, recognizes that healing is a partnership. Knowledge that has been passed down from all ages and cultures plays a powerful role in this new medicine and therapeutic model. To integrate, or intertwine, is to create a new energy and greater hope in the healthcare of animals.
Integrative Therapy is blending the best treatments from the Conventional Medicine and Natural Healing and Therapies with knowledgeable practitioners that are willing to work together for the health and welfare of the animals that we love and care for. For those who understand that animals have always been great healers for humans, this transformation is natural as we try to bring balance and harmony into our interspecies relationship.
|