Dr. Weil: I did not invent the term integrative
medicine, but I think I am certainly the person
who has mainly popularized it and I am not
sure where I first heard it.
I think wherever I did it seemed to me that
was the right term because in those days everyone
was talking about alternative medicine, complimentary
medicine, holistic medicine - none of those
felt right to me.
They all either pushed people's buttons or
had a narrow focus or a wrong connotation.
Integrative medicine seemed neutral and inclusive
and it is what I began to call the system
that I practiced and taught.
Off-screen: And when people say to you, and
this is a very important point, what is integrative
medicine?
What do you say?
Dr. Weil: The short answer is it is the intelligent
combination of conventional and alternative
medicine, but that doesn't capture this movement.
I think integrative medicine is a real movement
and in essence it is trying to restore the
focus of medicine on health and healing away
from disease symptom management.
It emphasizes whole person medicine meaning
that we are more than just physical bodies
- we are minds, spirits, and community members.
It looks at all aspects of lifestyle; it emphasizes
the importance of the practitioner-patient
relationship to the healing practice.
And then it is willing to look at all methods
from whatever tradition they come from that
may be of value in treating disease - that
is the alternative piece.
Off-screen: Right, and that is the common
misconception, is that it is alternative medicine
and you are the alternative medicine doctor.
There is a big distinction between alternative
medicine and integrative medicine.
Dr. Weil: Yeah, alternative medicine is all
those ideas and practices not taught in conventional
schools of medicine and to me they range from
ones that are sensible and worth incorporating
into mainstream medicine to others that are
foolish and a few that are dangerous.
The challenge is to sort through all that
and see what is useful and what is not.
I am in no way an uncritical proponent of
alternative medicine and I in no way reject
conventional medicine; I think the goal is
to take the best of both worlds.
