The world is full of many different kinds of healing arts. In the United States, Western medicine is our primary modality, but at times it has its limitations. Western medicine works wonders in the treatment of acute illnesses that require emergency care, surgery and/or medications and it even saves lives when working with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer.  However, we often find when we face chronic illnesses or an imbalance in our health (physical, mental, and emotional) that has no known origin that we need to reach out to complimentary and alternative medicine to find complete healing.  What I have found over the years is that a combination of therapies, such as nutrition, homeopathy, and energy healing, promotes the best healing, rather than finding one miracle cure.  Finding the best therapy, or combination of therapies, becomes somewhat challenging at times.  Learn everything you can about a specific therapy, educate yourself, ask for references, experience it yourself, and then follow your instinct or intuition in picking a particular type of healing for you or your loved one.

• Acupuncture
• Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy
• Chiropractic
• Classical Homeopathy
• Energy Psychology
• Exercise
• Holistic Integrative Medicine
• Holistic Psychiatry
• Intuitive Healing
• Meditation
• Nutrition and Vitamin Therapy
• The Yuen Method

The National Library of Medicine classifies alternative therapies as therapeutic practices, which are not currently considered an integral part of conventional allopathic medical practice. Many western medicine practitioners believe they lack biomedical explanations and adequate empirical research; therefore they do not carry the credibility for everyday treatment.  But as they become better researched some therapies, such as chiropractic treatment, diet, and acupuncture, are becoming more widely accepted.  Therapies are termed as Complementary when used in addition to conventional treatments and as Alternative when used instead of conventional treatment.

There are hundreds of alternative therapies to choose from.  I have practiced many and been the recipient of many more.  There is so much information on the web about each type of therapy I will refrain from explaining each one.  Instead, I have talked a bit about my own experience with the therapies that I believe have been most beneficial for my premature daughter, my family, and myself.

Acupuncture: (www.acupunctureindenver.com, www.aaaomonline.org) Personally, I found acupuncture helpful for hormonal imbalances, structural (bone and muscle) issues, stress, and I have even used it for food allergies.  Some fear the needle prick, but it truly only stings for a split second.  The joy, relaxation, and benefits of the acupuncture completely out way the tiny bit of pain.  In infants and young children they often do acupressure instead of using any needles.   Some acupuncturists also prescribe Chinese herbs.  Given from a well-educated practitioner, herbs can be very beneficial and sometimes in replacement of synthetic medication.  Be sure to ask about their education, accreditations, and references.

Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapy: (www.craniosacraltherapy.org, www.energyschool.com)  Craniosacral therapy (CST) is becoming more common in the healing arts world.  Some physicians even refer their patients to a Craniosacral Therapist.  What is misunderstood, is that there are a variety of types of CST.  Some are more structurally based and some are more energetically based.  The biodynamic or energetically based are less invasive, less manipulative, and there is a deeper healing, in my opinion.  The structurally based forms can be learned quickly so make sure you find a practitioner with a lot of experience and is well trained.  Infants, children, and adults respond well to CST.  I would recommend CST for a wide range of needs from sleep, developmental problems, bonding, and eating issues in infants, to anxiety and stress in children, to mental and physical health imbalances in adults. 

Chiropractic: (www.start2health.com/book/author.html, www.accentsonhealth.com, www.igniteyourlife.com) Chiropractic treatment has become more accepted over the last few decades.  As recently as ten years ago chiropractic care was thought to be “silly and voodoo” medicine, now most insurance companies pay for chiropractic care.  I prefer a chiropractor who includes other forms of healing such as Applied Kinesiology, Acupuncture, and/or Nutritional Counseling in their treatment plans.  Clients of all ages, including infants, can benefit from seeing a Chiropractor.  Premature infants are often seen for eating and growing issues, developmental delays, and learning disabilities.  Be sure to ask about the doctor's training and get references from other patients.  You can even try seeing the doctor first to get a feel for their abilities if you plan on taking your infant or child in for a consultation.

Classical Homeopathy: (www.homeopathy-cures.com) Classical Homeopathy (CH) is one of my favorite forms of healing.  Unfortunately it is odd, complicated, hard to find a good practitioner in some areas and it is a true art form which requires experience.  CH is too hard to explain in a short paragraph, but trust me it works.  I believe myself and each of my family members are healthy, balanced and alive and kicking (myself primarily) because of CH.  The health and success of my premature daughter is primarily attributed to CH.  It is an excellent healing modality for almost any problem, if you find the right practitioner. (Homeopaths can be a bit finicky) Fortunately, the homeopath we use (see website above) can treat you long distance.  We will use homeopathy for the rest of our lives. 

Energy Psychology: (www.energypsych.org,) Energy psychology is not fully accepted in mainstream mental health care.  Some psychiatrists, psychologists, and therapists don’t even know it exists.  But much of the work that those who practice energy psychology do is common and done around the world.  The shifts found while using energy psychology are fast and sometimes profound.  Oftentimes you can learn some of the techniques yourself so you have tools at home when you are thrown off by life.  I highly encourage you to seek out someone who is familiar with energy psychology techniques such as the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) www.emofree.com, you will not regret it.

Holistic Integrative Medicine: (http://www.drmoniquemartin.com)  We are lucky here in the Denver area to have a wonderful Holistic Internal Medicine Physician who treats us from a complete, holistic viewpoint.  You may not be as fortunate, but you can search http://www.holisticmedicine.org to see if there is one in your area.  A holistically trained physician will look at the big picture and treat the underlying problem not just the symptoms.  www.mystillpoint.com/index.html is an amazing clinic in California.  One of my favorite books that Dr. Martin recommends is called, The Edge Effect by Eric Braverman, M.D.  This book talks about the four major neurotransmitters of the brain, dopamine, gaba, acetycholine, and serotonin.  Dr. Braverman helps you understand each of them, gives a short questionnaire to see if you have any imbalances, and recommends natural treatment with vitamins and diet.  Symptoms of imbalances in any or all of these neurotransmitters range from spaciness, to test anxiety, low energy, depression, etc.  Treating these imbalances can improve your health dramatically.

Holistic Psychiatry: (http://www.wholeness.com)  Dr. Shannon is somewhat unique in is treatment of psychiatric problems, and he is extremely successful.  Once again, looking at the situation from a broad format, knowing if there are any nutritional deficiencies, family dynamic problems, and other assessments can lead to a more complete healing outcome.  If you are interested, search the web for a Holistic Psychiatrist in your area. A wonderful new book that can help you understand mental health from a holistic perspective is called The UltraMind Solution by Mark Hyman, M.D.  Dr. Hyman unveils a groundbreaking program on how to fix your mental health by healing the body first.  A must for anyone facing problems such as depression, anxiety, stress, concentration issues, and more.

Intuitive Healing: (www.creativeinsightscoaching.com/Creative-Insights-home.html)  Cam is a unique soul.  She is warm, welcoming, knowledgeable, and always intuitively guided.  All good health care professionals should be intuitively guided, but unfortunately mainstream medical, nursing, and allied health care programs never emphasize using your intuition to guide you.  We all have a 6th sense, we just have to learn to listen to it and apply it to life.  Cam, or any other Intuitive Healer, can guide you when you feel stuck or unsure about life.  There are many ways to learn to listen to your own Sixth Sense.  Sonia Choquette provides many opportunities across the country to learn more about this beautiful process (www.soniachoquette.com).

Meditation: Meditation is an essential part of keeping ourselves healthy.  Research shows that it lowers blood pressure, improves memory and mental clarity, helps you sleep better at night, and it greatly relieves stress and depression.  Many people are worried about learning mediation, afraid they won’t be able to do it well or find the time.  My favorite meditation is just taking 5-10 minutes in the morning before I get out of bed to follow my breathing and be grateful for everything in my life from the bed I am laying in to my family and friends.  It really is that simple.  Starting your day begin grateful changes the energy and intention of the entire day.  Here are a couple of good suggestions on meditation techniques :   www.youtube.com/watch?v=EA2sc8WWuoI and http://ananga.squarespace.com/ananga-living-by-design-blog/2008/11/1/dr-oz-recommends-daily-meditation-for-beating-stress.html

Nutrition and Vitamin Therapy: Vitamin and Nutritional Therapy is crucial to our health and well-being.  I don’t have a website for you to find a particular practitioner, although many good chiropractors will advice you with this.  Stay away from fad diets and eat healthy, balanced meals and at least find a good multi-vitamin to give to every family member. www.mystillpoint.com/index.html has wonderful advice nutritionally.  My favorite book on nutrition and eating is called, Eat to Live by Joel Fuhrman, M.D.

The Yuen Method: (www.yuenmethod.com)  The Yuen Method is an odd form of healing, but it is very powerful.   The technique is often done over the phone.  I know phone work is foreign to many of you, but it works.  The first time I had any Yuen work done over the phone I was driving in my car, five minutes from home when I began.  I was grateful to pull into my driveway as I was feeling a bit dizzy and needed a two hour nap afterwards.  You won’t always feel this profound of a shift, sometimes the work is more subtle.  You can work on just about any problem; be it physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual.  The work can be done on you or your family member.  The amazing changes I saw with the Yuen work is what led me to learn the technique.  Jennifer Heckrodt is my favorite Yuen practitioner.  She does not have a website, but her email is Jenergetichealin@aol.com.