After studying Module 2: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Describe the three types of holistic healers below. Include information about their training approaches to healing and evidence-based patient outcomes. How do these compare to biomedical systems of care?
- Shamans
- Medicine Men
- Acupuncturists
Submission Instructions:
- Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources.
After studying Module 2: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Describe the three types of holistic healers below. Include information about their training, approaches to healing, and evidence-based patient outcomes. How do these compare to biomedical systems of care?
- Shamans
- Medicine Men
- Acupuncturists
Submission Instructions:
- Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources.
Holistic healers are practitioners who utilize non-conventional approaches to promote physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being. These healers often consider the whole person—mind, body, and spirit—when addressing health issues, contrasting the biomedical model, which focuses primarily on the physical aspects of disease. In this essay, we will explore three types of holistic healers: shamans, medicine men, and acupuncturists, discussing their training, healing approaches, and patient outcomes, and comparing them to the biomedical system of care.
Shamans
Shamans are traditional healers found in many indigenous cultures, including those of Native American, South American, and Siberian tribes. They are considered intermediaries between the physical and spiritual worlds. Shamanic healing involves various practices such as drumming, chanting, and the use of medicinal plants to enter altered states of consciousness, where the shaman communicates with spirits or ancestors to gain insight into the root causes of illness. The core belief of shamanism is that many physical ailments have spiritual or emotional origins, and healing involves restoring harmony between the individual and their environment, including spiritual forces.
Shamans do not typically undergo formalized training in the way biomedical practitioners do. Instead, they are often chosen by the community or inherit their role through lineage. Training is an apprenticeship-based process, involving long-term mentorship from an experienced shaman. Evidence of the effectiveness of shamanic healing is largely anecdotal, though some studies suggest that shamanic practices can have positive psychological outcomes, particularly in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression, by promoting emotional and spiritual well-being (Winkelman, 2010). However, there is a lack of rigorous, large-scale clinical trials to support shamanic practices as a substitute for biomedical treatment.
Medicine Men
Medicine men (or women) are traditional healers in Native American cultures, similar to shamans but often with more focus on the use of herbal remedies and natural treatments derived from the environment. Their practice is based on the belief that illness is caused by an imbalance between the individual, the community, and the natural world. Medicine men use various techniques, including prayer, ritual, and the administration of herbal medicines, to treat physical, emotional, and spiritual imbalances.
Like shamans, medicine men do not receive formal education in a biomedical sense but instead acquire their knowledge through years of apprenticeship under an elder healer. They are often regarded as community leaders with a deep understanding of the medicinal properties of local plants and herbs. Studies on the effectiveness of treatments by medicine men are limited, but research indicates that some traditional herbal remedies used by these healers have biologically active compounds that can have therapeutic effects (Benedek & Blumenthal, 2020). Despite this, their holistic and spiritual approach to healing does not align with the scientific, reductionist approach of biomedicine, which typically requires evidence from controlled clinical trials.
Acupuncturists
Acupuncture is a form of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) that has been practiced for thousands of years. Acupuncturists believe that the body contains pathways, or meridians, through which energy (qi) flows. Illness is thought to result from blockages or imbalances in the flow of qi, and acupuncture aims to restore balance by inserting fine needles at specific points on the body to stimulate healing.
Unlike shamans and medicine men, acupuncturists are required to undergo formalized education and training, especially in countries like the United States, where licensure is required to practice. Training typically involves the study of both TCM theories and modern biomedical science, and licensed acupuncturists must pass rigorous examinations. Research supports acupuncture for certain conditions, such as chronic pain, headaches, and nausea, and it has been integrated into some Western medical practices as a complementary therapy. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recognizes acupuncture as effective for certain conditions, and studies show that it can enhance patient outcomes, particularly in managing chronic pain (Vickers et al., 2018).
Comparison to Biomedical Systems of Care
The biomedical system, also known as Western medicine, relies heavily on evidence-based practices and focuses on diagnosing and treating diseases based on physical symptoms, laboratory tests, and imaging technologies. Treatment usually involves pharmaceuticals, surgery, or other interventions aimed at curing or managing the physical manifestations of illness. Biomedical training involves a structured, standardized education process, including medical school, residency, and board certification.
In contrast, holistic healers like shamans and medicine men prioritize the spiritual and emotional causes of illness, often using non-scientific methods for diagnosis and treatment. While some of their practices, such as the use of herbal remedies, align with biomedical pharmacology, much of their work is not supported by rigorous scientific evidence. Acupuncture, however, occupies a middle ground. It is widely accepted as a complementary therapy within the biomedical framework for certain conditions, particularly pain management, though it remains rooted in non-Western paradigms of health.
In conclusion, while shamans, medicine men, and acupuncturists all take a holistic approach to healing, their methods, training, and evidence-based outcomes vary significantly. Shamans and medicine men emphasize spiritual and community-based healing without formal education, whereas acupuncturists undergo formal training and their practices are supported by some scientific evidence. Compared to the biomedical system, these holistic approaches prioritize the interconnectedness of body, mind, and spirit, offering valuable perspectives that can complement Western medical practices, though they do not typically replace the need for biomedical interventions in critical health issues.
References
Benedek, B., & Blumenthal, M. (2020). Herbal medicine: Biomolecular and clinical aspects. CRC Press.
Vickers, A. J., Linde, K., & Acupuncture Trialists’ Collaboration. (2018). Acupuncture for chronic pain. JAMA, 319(20), 2034-2040.
Winkelman, M. (2010). Shamanism: A biopsychosocial paradigm of consciousness and healing. Praeger.
After studying Module 2: Lecture Materials & Resources, discuss the following:
Describe the three types of holistic healers below. Include information about their training, approaches to healing, and evidence-based patient outcomes. How do these compare to biomedical systems of care?
- Shamans
- Medicine Men
- Acupuncturists
Submission Instructions:
- Your initial post should be at least 500 words, formatted, and cited in current APA style with support from at least 2 academic sources.