Therapeutic caring
My understanding of holistic care is therapeutic caring and curing not just the body, mind, or spiritual need but the entirety of a person. The nurse needs to interact to earn trust and establish good rapport both with the patient and the responsible party on a personal level. I apply holistic care by recommending substitute forms of medicine like herbal medicines, meditation, and yoga to name a few aside from customary Western medicines so long it does not impede with current therapy.
Holistic healing methods are increasing in popularity. Miracle fruits. Herbal teas. In recent decades, these have been the images of holistic medicine. That is no longer the case. With more patients facing limited solutions to their health problems, many nurses, whether certified in holistic care or not, are exploring alternative methods to complement modern solutions to relieve pain or rid a patient’s body of disease. While modern medicine focuses on the causes of illness and disease and treating symptoms, the root of holistic healing is considering the whole patient. Holistic nurses will evaluate the whole person and direct care individually for the patient that will facilitate the patient’s innate healing abilities. Several popular methods holistic nurses are now using to improve modern care such as herbs like lavender, peppermint, and eucalyptus. It is expanding throughout the nation and beyond. It is clear increased people are embracing the power of essential oils and aromatherapy. Hydrotherapy, a centuries-old method is another holistic nurses’ method that is long being used. From a benefits perspective, Kristoff believes aquatic therapy can impact everything from a patient’s mobility to their activities of daily living. Moreover, the Acupressure holistic method can ease pain, reduce opioid use. The sense of touch is a powerful healing tool and is often used in many holistic therapies (Aiken, 2020).
The future already reveals that all health care practitioners will need to work within a shared framework of caring-healing relationships; integral medicine; healing arts, micro, and macro embodied caring-healing practices, and energy models of self-healing. Practitioners’ caring/healing consciousness and knowledgeable skills will be required to engage in the spiritual, non-physical, energetic dimensions of caring/healing (Watson, 2021).
