Chinese medicine in and of itself is the essence of holistic care as it addresses the mind, body, and spirit. When a person presents to my clinic with a chief complaint, all three of the above mentioned aspects are addressed as they are not only inter-related, but also inter-dependent. The wonderful thing about collaborating with other modalities is that we can carry that concept forward as we use multiple treatment strategies to address the mind, body, and spirit.
For example, in my work with a diabetic patient, I may recognize that their digestion is weak (called Spleen/Pancreas qi deficiency). My job is to find the root of that weakness, which may be that the person is a nurturer who does not know how to nurture themselves. That kind of work may be appropriate for a counselor/psychologist/life coach. As the person is working on nurturing/nourishing his/herself, amounts of pharmaceuticals, acupuncture, herbs, therapy, etc. would likely decrease as the person's overall health increases!