INTEGRATIVE HEALTH

• The initial consultation focuses on building a relationship and connection between the client and the integrative health practitioner.
• This relationship should be based on compassion, mutual respect and empathy.
• One of the roles of the IHP is to mentor, educate and empower their clients. The client should be clearly informed at all times and provided with choices so that they can contribute to their own health care.

Modern medicine has systematically broken the body down into its composite parts: Heart, lungs, muscles, bones, liver, kidney, brain, joints, etc Think of all the specialists that currently exist in the current healthcare system.

The challenge is that these specialists have a massive amount of knowledge and expertise but only in one specific area of the body. They often fail to recognize the interconnections of the human body and don’t fully understand its physiology.

An Ears Nose Throat (ENT) specialist is treating a patient for rhinitis (inflammation with the nasal passages) but doesn’t evaluate the health of the patient’s gastrointestinal system in relation to this condition.

A Dermatologist is treating a patient for psoriasis and eczema but doesn’t evaluate the patient’s diet, stress levels or the health of their gastrointestinal system.

A Physiotherapist is treating a client for ‘hot, swollen’ knees and provides a range of exercises. They fail to consider the impact that the client’s processed food diet and general ‘inflammatory’ lifestyle is having on the condition.

Integrative health practitioners focus on the whole person and consider all of the systems within the body: Cardiovascular system, digestive system, endocrine system, lymphatic/immune system, integumentary/exocrine system, musculoskeletal system, renal/urinary system, reproductive system, respiratory system, and nervous system.

It has been estimated that over one million academic papers are published each year. As such it is simply impractical to think that any health professional can read every scientific paper pertaining to their chosen field.

With that said, it’s imperative for integrative health practitioners to stay ‘current’ with the latest scientific evidence. This requires making time to consistently research, read and evaluate scientific papers and then to determine whether this information is congruent with what they see in clinical experience and whether changes to ‘best practice’ are required.

In addition to physical health, integrative health practitioners also need to consider the mental, emotional and spiritual health of their clients.

• It’s worth defining a few terms at this point for clarity of the discussion.
• The term ‘conventional medicine’ is used to describe a system in which medical doctors and other healthcare professionals treat symptoms and diseases using drugs, radiation or surgery.
• The term ‘allopathic medicine’ can be used interchangeably with the term ‘conventional medicine.’
• The term ‘complementary’ is most often used to describe non-mainstream practice that is used together with conventional medicine.
• The term ‘alternative’ is most often used to describe non-mainstream practice that is used in place of conventional medicine.

Most complementary health approaches fall into one of two subgroups: Natural products and supplementation, or mind and body practices.

Integrative Health Practitioners practice ‘complementary’ health care making use of a wide range of therapeutic treatments.

• As stated, Integrative Health Practitioners practice “complimentary” health care, which means combining ‘conventional’ medicine with ‘non-mainstream’ medicine. For many clients a team of healthcare professionals may need to be considered. This may include Chinese practitioners, acupuncturists, physiotherapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, podiatrists, naturopaths, dieticians, massage therapists, kinesiologists, homeopaths, movement coaches, and/or medical doctors.
• See Body Genius Institute – ‘A new healthcare model’

By joining modern medicine with proven practices from other healing traditions, integrative health practitioners are better able to alleviate pain and suffering, reduce stress, maintain the client’s health and vitality, and enhance their resilience. Most simply put, integrative health offers best practices for optimal health and healing.

Practice	Origin
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)	China
Acupuncture	China
Modern Medicine	Greece
Ayurveda	India
Yoga	India
Naturopathy	Greece (Hippocrates)
Unani Tibb	Arabic – based on Greek medicine
Siddha	South Indida
Homeopathy	Germany – Samuel Hahnemann
Chiropractic	United States
Colon Therapy – Enema	Egypt
Osteopathy / CranioSacral therapy	United States
Meditation	Hindu traditions of Vedantism
Mindfulness	Buddhist traditions
Qigong, Tai Chi	China
Ancient Herbal Medicine	South and Central America
Feldenkrais Method	Israel
Fasting	Christians, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Taoists, Confucianists, Jainists, Buddhists, & other religious faiths.

In a nutshell, essentially every condition can be improved in some way by the focused attention and mentorship of an Integrative Health Practitioner. Here is a list of the most common complaints and ailments:

Psoriasis	Eczema	Uticaria	Rosacea
Constipation	Diarrhea	Crohn’s disease	IBS
Joint pain	Arthritis	Cancer	Diabetes
Brain fog	Chronic fatigue	Poor sleep patterns	Hormone imbalances
Menstrual problems	Reflux/heartburn	Food sensitivities	Acne
Bloating	Depression	Anxiety	Headaches/migraines
Lower back pain	Neck pain	Inability to lose weight
Infertility – inability to fall pregnant or carry the foetus to full term

Excellent question!

First, our treatment approach will focus on mental, emotional, spiritual and physical healing. Most treatment approaches focus solely on physical healing.

Second, a key step in our approach is to emphasize the reduction of habits or patterns of thinking that are contributing to your symptoms or disease.

• A reduction in the amount of time spent sitting (Sedentary Lifestyle)
• Less processed foods such as breads, cereals, pasta, pre-prepared meals, canned or packaged foods, processed meats and farmed seafood.
• A reduction in the amount of time spent using phones, computers, watching television or using other electronic devices.
• Minimizing or completely eliminating alcohol, sugar, coffee and other inflammatory foods and drinks.
• Reducing the amount of negative thought patterns and negative emotions that are experienced on a daily basis.
• Reducing the amount of stress experienced on a daily basis.
• Minimizing or completely eliminating all soft drinks, fruit juices, energy drinks and other liquids containing sugar and harmful additives.

In many cases this ‘reduction strategy’ is far more important than promoting natural supplementation or ‘adding in’ positive behaviours such as meditation or yoga. Eliminating ‘old habits’ and ‘fixed mindset’ patterns of thinking is a crucial first step.

Many clients simply don’t understand that there are barriers to healing and that these need to be addressed first.

Barriers To Healing

Systemic Inflammation	Poor sleep patterns	Parasitic infections
Food Sensitivities	Fungal Overgrowth	Malnourished
Chronic Stress	Sedentary Lifestyle	Negative emotions
Poor gut health	Smoking	Alcohol & drugs
Food additives	Processed Foods	Chemical exposure
Medications	Inadequate hydration	Repetitive stresses

Third, it’s through these types of reduction strategies that an emphasis is placed on the ‘Foundation Principles’ of health. You will notice there is a natural shift towards:

• Improvements in sleep patterns
• Adequate hydration on a daily basis
• A diet based firmly on organic, whole foods
• A diet that focuses on vegetables, leafy greens and healing herbs/spices
• Daily physical activity
• Being grateful on a daily basis
• Being happy on a daily basis. Happiness leads to success!
• Connecting with friends and family on a weekly basis
• Greater mindfulness and a lifestyle that is focused on conscious living, organic living, and sustainable living!

 The more simple the strategy, the more successful the outcome.

Fourth, we try to keep treatment protocols simple!  There are literally hundreds of research papers that have studied the effectiveness of various therapies and lifestyle modification programs. The outcomes are very clear: The more complex and time consuming the treatment strategy the less compliant the patient will be with the program. And it only makes sense that if the patient is less compliant then the level of success diminishes exponentially.

Lastly, most practitioners ‘dictate’ treatment protocols to their clients. This approach is disempowering and the client feels like they are not contributing to their own healing process. At the Body Genius Institute our practitioners will always provide you with choices, allowing you to guide your own healing process and feel in control and empowered. In many cases your practitioner will recommend extra reading material, podcasts, websites or blogs that will contribute to your learning and understanding.

Our Integrative Health Practitioners view themselves as mentors and coaches, which is a far different mindset to most other practitioners.

There is nothing worse than watching the costs build up for consultations, diagnostic testing and natural supplementation or medication. Especially when you’re not provided with choices and feel these decisions are out of your control. The stress builds and you either have to stop consulting or have an uncomfortable conversation with your practitioner.

In our experience these costs are often substantially greater when seeking the advice of an alternative health practitioner compared with a medical doctor.

There are two key points that need to be made. First, you will be provided with choices as you move through your treatment protocol and you will be asked to participate fully in your own healing process. Second, costs are discussed openly and honestly with our clients and no client will be placed under financial burden as a result of treatment. The length of your program will be dependent upon the complexity of your case and once again this will be discussed with you in the initial stages of assessment.

Yes, is based on face-to-face contact, with the potential to use Skype or FaceTime if you’re outside the Perth region. Currently our practitioners are consulting with clients all over the world.