Emotional Factor

The patient may also be asked about emotional factors, as to the Chinese, a family death, or other form of grief may be a contributing factor to the onset of disease.

All these apparently irrelevant features arc important because acupuncture treatment concentrates on the whole person, not just the disease that has brought the patient to the acupuncturist.

Not surprisingly, it is much more demanding to practise an integrated viewpoint than to focus only on particular symptoms.

In the latter approach, each symptom can be dealt with in relative isolation, whereas in the former all must be constantly related to the whole until the complete pattern of disharmony is corrected to re-establish health.

Although the holistic approach may be more difficult to practise, it is also more realistic in many ways.

By taking in many different facets of a case as a matter of course, it gives a greater understanding of the patient's health as a whole, by providing a rounded and comprehensive picture.

It emphasises the uniqueness of each individual arid ensures that that patient is treated, not just some disease-label.