You’ve decided you prefer to treat the whole body, not just isolated parts. You’ve decided you want to deal with the root cause, not just treat symptoms. And you’ve decided you want to try to avoid the use of pharmaceuticals as much as possible. But finding a holistic physician who will support you in these goals can be a real challenge. Even though more and more physicians are becoming trained in integrative therapies and natural healing modalities, these type professionals are still very much in the minority among their peers – especially in the United States. 

The US medical schools have been slow to come around in adding nutrition and Integrative Medicine as a core part of its medical school curriculum. Most doctors who today practice as true integrative physicians have taken the initiative themselves after graduating from medical school to get additional training via fellowships and certification programs. But, how do you find one of these doctors? Let’s look first at what you’re really looking for:

What is a “good” doctor?

Finding the right doctor is a critical step in your quest to develop robust health. For most natural health-oriented patients, a “good” doctor would be as follows:

• Medically knowledgeable and up to date, in both allopathic and in natural medicine protocols.
• Respectful and supportive of your desire to use natural healing approaches and integrative therapies and willing to work with you to incorporate these strategies.
• Open to new healing and treatment approaches if the efficacy of the approach can be demonstrated.
• Preferably (although not essential) is a member of your medical insurance network (if you have insurance) and can bill routine office visits and lab work through your insurance.
• Can prescribe pharmaceuticals or use other allopathic medical approaches (or refer you to a doctor who can) if necessary in the treatment protocol. An integrative doctor uses the best of conventional and alternative medicine to bring healing to the root cause of the disorder as well as symptomatic relief.

Now that you know what a “good” doctor is, it’s time to find one. Here are two specific ways to find such a doctor or a holistic health practitioner:

Step 1: Find a holistic health practitioner or doctor by using our Directory Listing.

The first method to find a holistic health practitioner or a physician who practices integrative therapies involves accessing our Directory Listings on our website. The doctors and providers appearing in this list come from recommendations from people just like you – the readers who access our website. You can search for doctors based on degrees, practice specialties, treatments offered, locations, etc.

“I Know a Great Doctor!”

Finding a qualified holistic health practitioner or physician in your area who will support your natural medicine preferences can be a daunting task. Therefore, we in the community who share such preferences NEED TO HELP EACH OTHER! If you are already seeing a holistic health practitioner or doctor you really like, please help other like-minded people who are searching for such a professional by completing a new listing of that doctor in our directory. It will only take you a minute or two and could help many other people by doing so. So share your doctor with us now, and help someone else! Here’s how: