Toward an integrative medicine : merging alternative therapies with biomedicine /

Baer (anthropology, Univ. of Arkansas at Little Rock) explores the social transformation of holistic health and the New Age movement during the past 30 years in the US. Both holism and New Ageism focus on a balance in the interaction of the mind, body, and spirit, but New Ageism is associated more often with the use of alternative therapies such as naturopathy, Oriental medicine (including acupuncture), and meditation. Baer explores the influences on holistic health through eight periods of time, starting with the countercultural (hippies) movement of the 1960s and extending to the humanistic and wellness movement and environmental movement. The author traces the shift to the current use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) and integrative medicine. His view is that biomedicine (allopathic medicine) is buying into and co-opting alternative health. Baer's criticism is that both holism and New Ageism concentrate too much on the individual rather than on society and its institutions; he calls for the creation of an authentic holistic health system. This would require the creation of a universal health care system that could offer working-class and poor people the opportunity to use CAM therapies. ^BSumming Up: Recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above. L. Synovitz Southeastern Louisiana University