Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2012
Abstract
Whole systems complementary and alternative medicine (WS-CAM) approaches share a basic worldview that embraces interconnectedness; emergent, non-linear outcomes to treatment that include both local and global changes in the human condition; a contextual view of human beings that are inseparable from and responsive to their environments; and interventions that are complex, synergistic, and interdependent. These fundamental beliefs and principles run counter to the assumptions of reductionism and conventional biomedical research methods that presuppose unidimensional simple causes and thus dismantle and individually test various interventions that comprise only single aspects of the WS-CAM system. This paper will demonstrate the superior fit and practical advantages of using complex adaptive systems (CAS) and related modeling approaches to develop the scientific basis for WS-CAM. Furthermore, the details of these CAS models will be used to provide working hypotheses to explain clinical phenomena such as (a) persistence of changes for weeks to months between treatments and/or after cessation of treatment, (b) nonlocal and whole systems changes resulting from therapy, (c) Hering's law, and (d) healing crises. Finally, complex systems science will be used to offer an alternative perspective on cause, beyond the simple reductionism of mainstream mechanistic ontology and more parsimonious than the historical vitalism of WS-CAM. Rather, complex systems science provides a scientifically rigorous, yet essentially holistic ontological perspective with which to conceptualize and empirically explore the development of disease and illness experiences, as well as experiences of healing and wellness.
Recommended Citation
Koithan, Mary, Iris R. Bell, Kathryn Niemeyer, and David Pincus. (2012). "A complex systems science perspective for whole systems of complementary and alternative medicine research." Forschende Komplementarmedizin 19(1) 7-14. doi: 10.1159/000335181
Copyright
Karger
Comments
This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication in Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine, volume 19, supplement 1, in 2012 following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version is available online at DOI:10.1159/000335181.