Introduction

As a clinician, how you practice is informed by your beliefs and by your sense of what is true. Your perspective is based on many factors, including your knowledge of research findings, as well as your personal experience, data you get from the physical exam and diagnostic testing, and even your “gut feelings.” You need to feel that an Integrative Health plan is realistic, safe, and keeping in with your medical expertise.

Patients have their own explanations for what is happening to them and why. It is not unusual for patients’ perspectives to be influenced by different “ways of knowing” than their clinicians. They may believe they need a test or therapy because it worked for a relative, or because a television commercial said, “Ask your doctor about...” Perhaps they want a treatment because it worked for them in the past, or they are intuitively drawn from it. Maybe a medically-trained friend or relative told them to ask you about something. Perhaps they are making health decisions based on their religious beliefs, or their cultural backgrounds, or something they saw on the Internet (and this information may be very evidence-informed, or it may not).

The question becomes, how do you and your patients develop a health plan that honors both of your perspectives and that you both feel good about?¹

Mindful Awareness Moment

Something True for You

Take a moment to think of a belief you hold to be true. It can be as simple as “The sky is blue” or “Never mess with the pancreas during abdominal surgery.” It can also be something more complex, such as, “I believe in an afterlife” or “I care about that person.”

Now, ask yourself what is the basis for your belief. In other words, how do you know this belief is true?