The term "alternative medicine" covers an increasing number of concepts and medical approaches, most of which originate from Asia. The source of wisdom that has long been firmly anchored in Asian traditions seems almost inexhaustible.


The term naturopathy also covers various disciplines, including acupuncture, reflexology, aromatherapy, homeopathy, Reiki, Shiatsu, Ayurveda, Bach flower therapy and chiropractic.

There are various associations of alternative practitioners, which differ in name depending on the federal state, but all aim to certify their members' ability to use these treatment methods.

You should therefore make sure that an alternative practitioner is a member of one of these associations or has learnt their trade in one of the recognised alternative practitioner schools.

The prerequisite for someone who wants to offer alternative medicine is that they have also completed training in conventional medicine. If this were not the case, they would lack the important foundations and prerequisites for making diagnoses and recognising clinical pictures.

Since alternative medicine can often only have a supporting function to conventional methods, this is necessary in order to understand the overall picture of the state of health.

Even if there is a tradition abroad of generally healing with the methods of what we call "alternative medicine", this does not mean that a German candidate for these treatment methods has the same prerequisites for this holistic medical approach. He will always be biased by his European way of thinking and have a different understanding of many things. As a European, he must therefore have an alternative to alternative medicine at hand, otherwise he runs the risk of simply not being able to recognise important aspects of a clinical picture.

This is why the term "complementary medicine" is being used more and more frequently in our part of the world.

There is a desire and need for holistic treatment methods in the medical world, as well as among the general public, so they will continue to be welcome and it is becoming apparent that the trend towards a fusion will continue.

What is already referred to as "fusion food" in gastronomy today, namely the fusion of Western and Oriental culinary arts, could soon also be coined as a term for medicine, as we are well on the way to finally recognising that one does not have to exclude the other.

This is noticeable, to name just one example, when health insurance companies cover services from the field of alternative medicine and research and doctors increasingly switch to using homeopathic remedies if they promise significantly more benefit than their previous counterparts from classical medicine.