2 History of Healing: The World’s Healing Systems

What we now call science involves fields of study that use observation to describe mostly the outer world.

… Before the modern world, it was taken for granted that there are other dimensions of life

that abound with meaningful things, important ideas and compelling images

that are saturated with being and are, therefore, more real than common reality.

– Michael Meade, Author, Mythologist, & Storyteller

The fledgling process of decolonization in health care around the globe is perhaps most evident in the commitment of The World Health Organization (WHO) to helping countries generate evidence-based policies and strategic plans in relation to Traditional and Complementary Medicine (T & CM) throughout the world (WHO, 2019).  This chapter offers a brief introduction to these initiatives, a few traditional medicine systems, and ways that we can learn about and explore the relevance of such systems for our own and others’ health care.

Evolving Terminology 

WHO defines T & CM* as follows: 

Traditional Medicine – the sum total of the knowledge, skill and practices based on the theories, beliefs and experiences indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or treatment of physical and mental illness (WHO, 2019, p. 8).

Complementary Medicine – a broad set of health care practices that are not part of that country’s own traditional or conventional medicine and are not fully integrated into the dominant health care system. They are used interchangeably with traditional medicine in some countries. (WHO, 2019, p.8).

*Note: WHO documents are in the process of …

… moving away from inclusion of ‘Alternative Medicine’ in their documents, so the term ‘TCAM’ may still appear in some WHO literature. This transition is in support of holistically integrating the safest and most appropriate evidence-informed healing systems, rather than selecting one or the other.

… increasingly referring to ‘Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCI)’ on their general website (WHO, n.d.).

WHO is currently prioritizing work in relation to Traditional Medicine, in hopes of supporting its contribution to global health and sustainable development in ways that honour local heritages, resources and rights (WHO, 2024).  Related initiatives include …

… development of the WHO traditional medicine strategy: 2014-2023 and the subsequent strategy due for release in 2025 (WHO, n.d.)

… establishment of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (WHO, 2024). The short video at the above link offers a concise overview of related rationale.

In Canada, Traditional Indigenous Healing is strongly supported and informed by the TRC Calls to Action for ‘Health’ (Calls #18 through 24).  Note: Call #22 particularly implores all those who can effect change within the Canadian health care system to recognize the value of Indigenous healing practices and use them in the treatment of Indigenous patients in collaboration with Indigenous healers and Elders where requested by Indigenous patients (TRC, 2010, p. 3).  The above WHO and TRC documents offer powerful support for the inclusion of Traditional Healing when patients wish to include it in their holistic care.

Learning about Traditional Healing Systems

Traditional Medical Systems may also be referred to as  ‘Whole Medical Systems’ or ”Traditional Healing Systems’ (Baars & Hamre, 2017;WHO, n.d.).  The latter, more inclusive term will primarily be used in this handbook, given that ‘medicine’ may too easily be interpreted as ‘biomedicine’ in our current Canadian context. The box below provides an overview of some of the world’s most widely known healing systems.

Of course, there are as many traditional healing systems in the world as there are cultures (provided they haven’t been extinguished by colonization). One of the most life-giving ways to learn about traditional healing is by respectfully conversing with others about their family and cultural healing traditions, while sharing and learning about any of our own that we may have (Ermine, n.d.). With respectful attention to proper protocol, Traditional Healers may also offer teachings as they deem appropriate. A Traditional Healer is a person who is recognized by their own community as someone gifted and skilled to provide health care by using plant, animal and mineral substances and other methods based on social, cultural and religious practices (WHO, n.d.). 

Introductory learning about some traditional healing systems can occur via these two quick reference data bases*:

• National Institute of Health (NIH). (n.d.). National center for complementary and integrative health (NCCIH). https://nccih.nih.gov/   (Open access)

• Therapeutic Research Center (n.d.). Natural medicines comprehensive database:

http://naturaldatabaseconsumer.therapeuticresearch.com/home.aspx?s=NDC&cs                                               (Consumers; Open Access)

                                                            NatMed Pro (therapeuticresearch.com)                                                                        Professionals; Available by subscription/via subscribing health care & education institutions)  

Note: The above data bases …

…  may bring up a given traditional healing system if you enter it into the ‘search’ window.

…  currently are missing some well-known systems of traditional healing.

… provide a beginning look at the evidence base for some healing systems.

… cannot always keep up with the most recent or culturally-nuanced evidence for a given healing system.

… will be further explored in Chapters 3 and 4.

Supporting Traditional Healing Within Holistic Care

This chapter’s resources reveal that, to varying degrees around the world, we are relatively new at supporting traditional healing alongside biomedicine. Fortunately, there is a growing spirit of collaboration with regard to finding safe, evidence-informed ways to blend the best of a variety of healing systems to offer sustainable, culturally relevant, holistic health care in keeping with individual consumers’ wishes. Health care providers (HCPs) can individually collaborate with each person they serve by intentionally inquiring about any healing traditions important to that individual (Scott Barss, 2024). We can also develop relationships and collaborate with recognized Traditional Healers who the consumer may wish to involve in their care (Eggertson, 2015). Exploration of the ‘H’  in ‘WHOLE Care’  can cue any collaboration needed to understand and engage the healing traditions that best support the healing process.  We will explore additional considerations and resources as we discuss specific healing modalities in Chapter 3.