Integrative Medicine: The Return of the Soul to Healthcare

By Bonnie McLean O.M.D.

Integrative Medicine: The Return of the Soul to Health Care is an introduction to the field of integrative medicine. Based on both her extensive research and personal experience as a practitioner and recipient of allopathic medicine, oriental medicine, functional medicine, energy medicine, and counseling, Dr. Bonnie McLean offers a user-friendly overview of integrative medicine with resources for further exploration by the reader.
From childhood to her current practice in oriental medicine, Dr. McLean has spent her life immersed in medicine. Raised by a physician father and nurse mother, she spent the first twenty years of her adulthood as an RN. After witnessing what she calls a loss of soul in contemporary medicine, she spent the next thirty years in a search of the soul in medicine. She explored natural medicine, Chinese medicine, psychology, energy medicine, and shamanic healing.
With the advent of integrative medicine, she strongly believes that the soul of medicine is returning. The best of both worlds (science of medical technology and the art of healing, contemporary knowledge and ancient wisdom, East and West) are beginning to work hand in hand under the umbrella of integrative medicine. Integrative medicine is the wave of the future!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jul 31, 2017
• ISBN: 9781504383455

Bonnie McLean O.M.D.

Bonnie McLean, OMD, AP, MA, BSN, has over fifty years’ experience in the health field. She graduated from Duke University School of Nursing in 1967. She obtained her MA in counseling from Pepperdine University in 1976, her license to practice acupuncture in California in 1983, and her doctorate in Oriental medicine in 1986. She holds acupuncture licenses in Florida and California and is NCCAOM-certified in acupuncture and Chinese herbs. She is also certified in hypnosis in the state of Florida and is a member of IACT (International Association of Counselors and Therapists). Using her own eclectic approach to Oriental medicine, she has been a practitioner of holistic and integrative medicine for over thirty years.

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Copyright © 2015 Bonnie McLean O.M.D.

Author Photographer:

Robert Baisden

Front Cover Artist:

Nikola Stamenkovich

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8344-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8346-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-8345-5 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017910120

Balboa Press rev. date: 07/31/2017

Contents

Endorsements

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Preface

Introduction

Chapter 1 My Search For The Soul Of Medicine

Chapter 2 History Of Western Medicine

Chapter 3 Miracles Of Medical Technology In Western Medicine

Chapter 4 The Birth Of Holistic Medicine In The United States

Chapter 5 Medicine From The East

Chapter 6 The Healing Power Of Natural Medicine

Chapter 7 Quantum (Energy) Medicine

Chapter 8 How Stress Can Make Us Ill

Chapter 9 Healing The Healer

Chapter 10 Spiritual And Shamanic Healing

Chapter 11 The Art Of Self-Care

Chapter 12 Sacred Medicine

Chapter 13 Integrative Medicine In The United States

Chapter 14 Integrative Medicine In Action

Appendix

Glossary

References And Resources

Bibliography

ENDORSEMENTS

I have worked and taught with Dr. McLean for over 20 years and honor her as a remarkable teacher and healer. Her dedication and compassion are unsurpassed among the healers I have met along my journey. I feel truly blessed she has been my friend and mentor. Her amazing book provides a creative and practical bridge between the worlds of Western medicine and the ancient holistic healing arts. In addition, she reminds us that the integration of mind, body, and spirit is a critical step in seeking true health. Her wise words about the effects of stress on health and the importance of self care as prevention need to be heard by every individual struggling with hectic modern life, but ring especially true by the healers among us. I will be heartily recommending her inspiring book to my patients and colleagues.

Martha Sarasua M.D., PhD,

Neuro-psychiatrist and Adjunct Professor of Chemistry, University of West Florida, Pensacola, Fl.

Integrative Medicine by Dr. Bonnie McLean is really not a textbook of medicine. It is more like a song book. Yes, there is much to learn from her text but so much more to be enjoyed. We are in an age where individuals must learn the tools to decide about our own health care and to be responsible for it. Doctor McLean has mastered the art of simplifying these tools for us. She has exalted the title ‘doctor’ which means ‘teacher.’ And just as importantly, she bases her teachings on the ‘truth,’ such a difficult entity to find today. Congratulations, Bonnie, and thank you on behalf of all of us.

Tom Schneider MD, FACS,

Capt. USN. Ret’d

For my friends, neighbors, and patients, I am delighted to have a generous and practical resource for living well. Dr. Bonnie has researched supporting and enlivening practices that are available for our choosing. It is our birthright to know ourselves as owners of brilliant and emotionally wise bodies that respond readily to kindness and support. This kind of medicine, a medicine of kindness, is generously described in a book that invites us to explore and consider with a knowledgeable tour guide. Welcome to your menu of choices in encouraging your own vitality and presence.

Janet K. Shaffer

LAc Licensed Acupuncturist Duke

Integrative Medicine Durham. N.C.

The real pearl in this tale is the journey within the journey. As you navigate the history of medicine and the many facets of alternative and complementary medicines, you travel along with Dr. Bonnie McLean on her personal journey of healing and becoming the sage healer that she is today. I never stop learning from her human example of what it means to be a healer,

Elise Treff Gordon MD

Dr. McLean’s passion for integrative health and healing runs in her blood. Her passion and compassion, as well as her wisdom are fully expressed in this wonderful book. I trust this book will empower the reader to start or even deepen the path of true health. I hope the reader enjoys this book as much as I did. I will be recommending it to my patients.

Jorge Peláez, MD

This book reminds us that there are subtle substances which are the missing ingredients in healing. Body mind and spirit are necessarily intertwined and must be treated as a whole for true healing to occur. We were shown how a person may be healed of a disease only to still be broken in spirit. Through the masterful art of healing a person on multiple levels, true health returns physically, mentally and spiritually. Through Dr. Bonnie’s book she reminds us there is a higher power that restores our health and is in charge of all that exists. This power once again reminds us as our world progresses there is a healing essence which exists in a man’s body as well as his mind and soul. Dr. Bonnie shows us our ancient brothers and sisters are just as wise as our modern brothers and sisters. The more we know and learn, the more we realize man must be treated as a whole. Overall this is a much needed book for a history of holistic care and the alternative types of treatment and care available in today’s world.

Kenneth L. Williams D.C.

Dr. Mclean provides us with a comprehensive and unique introduction and resource guide to many of the world’s approaches to healing. This will be a valuable reference for patients and practitioners. Because of Bonnie’s very eclectic professional training, clinical practice, and travels to study with teachers and groups around the world, she writes clearly from first hand experience.

William L. Mikulas, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus

author of The Integrative Helper + Taming the Drunken Monkey

In this amazing journey of ancient healing arts and traditional medicine, we find a heartfelt philosophical and practical approach to medicine. This helps us to make better choices about healing ourselves. Bonnie has brought us a much needed, long awaited and unique guide to integrative medicine.

Teresa Brown-Konell,

biofeedback therapist, medical intuitive, and health coach.

I highly recommend this thoughtful book that is brimming with gems of wisdom.

Dr. Michael Brant De Maria,

Integrative psychologist, best-selling author,

and four-time Grammy-nominated recording artist

Amid the wonderful advances of health care, there is an ever-increasing need to reconnect to the essence of the patient. As Dr. Bonnie describes in this book, integrative medicine offers an opportunity to return to the healing-oriented approach to health care. Healing is the very soul of medicine.

Michael Doss

DEDICATION

Dedicated to those who commit themselves to the sacred art of healing, whether in the role of the healer or the person experiencing the healing process.

I believe that one of the most courageous things a person can do is embark on the journey to heal oneself. The art of healing is a calling to which one dedicates one’s life. I hold my colleagues in highest regard and with deepest respect. Thank you, thank you, thank you for who you are and what you do.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Amanda Leucht, Colin Dawson, and Tim Danielsen for illustrating this book, to the practitioners who gave their time to be interviewed, to my beloved colleagues with whom I work, and to my patients who inspire me every day. Thanks to my friends and community for your encouragement, to Glenn, Michael, and Robert for your support, to Mike for your understanding, and to my family for being my family. I love you all.

FOREWORD

Dr. Michael De Maria

In Integrative Medicine: The Return of the Soul to Health Care, Dr. Bonnie McLean provides the reader with a wealth of information and thoughtful wisdom on the all-important subject of bringing the soul back into health care. We live, for the most part, in an extroverted, thinking, egocentric, materialistic society that has long ago lost the wisdom of the heart and the wholeness of the soul as the key ingredients to living a healthy and meaningful life. Dr. Bonnie shares with us her journey, trials, tribulations, and discovery from her lifelong search for finding the heart and soul of health care. From Western medicine and psychology, to acupuncture, to energy healing, to shamanism, Dr. Bonnie doesn’t leave any stone unturned in her search and allows the reader ample time to enjoy the journey with her and learn along the way. I highly recommend this thoughtful book that is brimming with gems of wisdom.

Dr. Michael Brant DeMaria

Integrative psychologist, best-selling author, and four-time Grammy-nominated recording artist

Michael Doss

After declaring to my father that I had decided to become a health care provider, he asked me, Do you want to primarily be known as a doctor or as a healer? The title of doctor pertains to MDs, osteopaths, podiatrists, dentists, doctors of chiropractic and acupuncture, and PhDs in various fields. The message to me was that anyone with ample intellect can earn the title of doctor. However, only those who choose to tend to the essence of a person are also healers.

In anatomy lab, I stood awestruck by the sight of covered cadaver bodies. When we uncovered the cadaver assigned to us, I’ll always remember the basic elements of life that entered my mind. What is the difference between him and me? We both have the same anatomical parts, but he is dead, and I am alive. The difference is that I have this thing we call life; he doesn’t. It struck me that the essence of life is energy. It’s innate wisdom. Its quality not only separates the dead from the living but the healthy from the sick.

In a time where advances equate to more automation and mechanization, there is a price to be paid for these advances, especially in health care. That price is the human connection: the connection between provider and the essence of the patient. Yet it is this very essence that is life itself. A person’s essence includes the innate energy that permeates and mediates all his bodily systems, as well as his thoughts, beliefs, and feelings. Generically, we refer to this as his heart, mind, and soul.

Amid the wonderful advances of health care, there is an ever-increasing need to reconnect to the essence of the patient. As Dr. Bonnie describes in this book, integrative medicine offers an opportunity to return to the healing-oriented approach to health care. Healing is the very soul of medicine.

Michael Doss

PREFACE

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.

—Dr. Albert Schweitzer

THIS IS THE soul of medicine.

Medicine in America has drastically changed since I was a little girl. I don’t recognize it anymore. Our medical technology is amazing, but I don’t see the soul (the sacredness of the healing process) within medicine that I remember as a child. Working with people soul-to-soul is why I went into medicine in the first place. I talk with patients in our medical system every day who feel our health care system is broken. They feel they are not receiving the care they need. Many don’t feel they are listened to or cared about—not really. They feel they are not receiving a nurturing human touch. And I know many doctors and nurses who are frustrated because they feel they are unable to give their patients the care they would like to be able to provide to them. Practitioners have to conduct their hospital work and medical practices more like businesses than the calling that had inspired them to go into the healing professions.

I believe that health care is at a turning point in America. I felt inspired to write this book six years ago. I was just beginning to see integrative medicine emerging in our culture. Since then, I’ve seen a quiet explosion of this positive evolution in medicine.

Our way of practicing medicine is in a state of transformation, and it’s a good one. Not only do we have amazing modern medical technology, but healing is returning to medicine, and patients are learning how to empower themselves to get healthy and maintain their health.

Integrative medicine brings the miracles of medical technology, the healing power of touch and human connection, and the self-empowerment of the patient together. It’s not a matter of either/or. It’s a matter of the embracing of all. It’s knowing how to weave them into the tapestry of the unique healing process that is embodied in each and every one of us.

My entire life has been spent immersed in medicine and healing. This is the love of my life. As I wrote this book, I realized that the past fifty years of my career have been a journey to find the soul in medicine. I also spent these years going through my own self-healing process. It was through that process that I also rewove the tapestry of my own soul.

I grew up immersed in medicine. My father was a physician. My mother was a nurse. When I was a child, hospitals were built and run by groups of physicians and churches. Doctors made house calls. Patients even had our home phone number. I remember our neighborhood pharmacy, where my father had his medications compounded. I still remember the funny smells and a cash register with big keys. Like the family doctor, our pharmacist knew the whole family.

I was inspired to go into nursing at an early age. I read everything I could find about Dr. Albert Schweitzer and his hospital in Africa. As an RN I spent the first twenty years of my health care career in Western medicine. The last thirty-five-plus years have been spent exploring the worlds of psychology, oriental medicine, shamanic healing, and energy medicine. I found bits of soul in each of these medicines, as well within myself.

Like many others to whom I have spoken, I have grown to believe that our system of medical care is indeed broken. Through the fifty years of my career in the healing arts, I have observed the community hospitals I remember as a child morph into mega-businesses. The neighborhood pharmacies I remember are now run by powerful pharmaceutical corporations.

In my research I also found that this is an opinion shared not only by patients and medical practitioners but also by some very prominent institutions. Take a look at these statistics:

• According to the June 17, 2014, issue of Time magazine, the US ranks worst among eleven wealthy nations in terms of efficiency, equity and outcomes, despite having the world’s most expensive health care system.¹,²

• In 2011 the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development) reported that the United States spent two and a half times more than the OECD average health expenditure per person. Health care expenditures in the US were over $7,500 per person a year compared to $2,800–$5,100 in other developed countries. Both hospital spending and pharmaceuticals were over 60 percent higher than other developed countries, yet the amount of service provided was lower. Life expectancy in the United States was below the OECD average—78.2 years, compared to the average of 79.5 years in other developed countries.³

• In 2015 the OECD reported that the life expectancy (78.8 years) in the United States is lower than in most OECD countries (80.5 years) for several reasons, including poorer health-related behaviors and the highly fragmented nature of the US health system. The quality of acute care in hospital in the United States is excellent, but the US health system is not performing very well in avoiding hospital admissions for people with chronic diseases. Health spending has remained 2.5 times higher than other developed countries.⁴

• According to an article, Study Urges CDC to Revise Count of Deaths from Medical Error, in Pro Publica: Journalism in the Public Interest (May 3, 2016), a study by researchers at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine says medical errors should rank as the third leading cause of death in the United States. Shortcomings in tracking vital statistics may be hindering proper research into this problem.⁵

• Even though the US has only 5 percent of the world’s population, we consume 80 percent of all prescription drugs.⁶

• According to www.allgov.com, death from prescription opioid overdose has quadrupled since 1999.⁷

• According to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, medication errors are among the most common medical errors, harming at least 1.5 million people every year. The extra medical costs of treating drug-related injuries occurring in hospitals alone are at least $3.5 billion a year. Medication-error morbidity and mortality costs are estimated to run $77 billion per year.⁸

• Chronic diseases are responsible for seven of ten deaths each year, and treating people with chronic diseases accounts for 86 percent of our nation’s health care costs.⁹

• Kaiser Health News (http://khn.org/) reported approximately $750 billion (about thirty cents of every medical dollar) is wasted on inefficient health care spending, such as unneeded care, byzantine paperwork, fraud, and other waste.¹⁰

• Half of the US population spends little or nothing on health care, while 5 percent of the population spends almost half of the total amount.¹¹

Our medical system may indeed be broken, but it’s also my belief that it is the system that is broken, not the patients or the practitioners within the system. Yet we are all part of it. It is, therefore, up to us to change it. We can work together to bring the art of healing back into our hospitals. We, as practitioners, can place more attention on identifying the root causes of disease and changes through lifestyle, with less focus on just treating the symptoms. We can be empowered as patients to take a more active role in our own health. I believe that behind every challenge is a gift. What a wonderful gift to ourselves this kind of self-empowerment would be!

The exciting thing about the changes our health care system is undergoing is that we already have role models of what our national health care system can be. Institutions and hospitals all over the country have centers for integrative medicine. We have individuals who practice integrative medicine in their offices and clinics. I know because I am blessed to work in such an office and am part of a network of other health practitioners in our community.

One of my roles as a practitioner of natural medicine is to educate my patients on how they can regain their health and stay healthy, so I am constantly researching the latest information on health and healing. The internet offers an amazing amount of information from a variety of sources, but with so many resources available, we can find ourselves in a state of information overload.

This book is designed to cut down on that overload by passing along my own research. I have made information about integrative medicine as user-friendly as I know how, and with the aid of this book’s appendix, glossary, references, and resources, you can do your own research on particular topics of interest.

As a practitioner of Chinese medicine, I am used to capitalizing titles I am familiar with, such as Holistic Medicine, Integrative Medicine, Western Medicine, Functional Medicine, Traditional Chinese Medicine, and Classical Chinese Medicine. When it came to being grammatically correct, I found conflicting information. I finally decided to follow the most common version of what is considered correct. Therefore, some of the titles I would prefer to capitalize are not.

One of my own healers has been—and continues to be—my community. Therefore, interviews I am sharing are from my own local community and in the spirit of community. This book exists because of the help and support from and collaboration with many colleagues, patients, artists, and friends who have been very generous with their advice, expertise, and time. I receive no financial compensation from any of the resources I provide. Please keep in mind that new information about health seems to surface every week. I would recommend you continue with your own research and decide for yourself what feels true for you.

Western medicine is top notch when it comes to acute care. We have lifesaving drugs, such as antibiotics and chemotherapy; surgeries, such as organ transplants; procedures, such as heart catheterizations; and technology, like cell phones that can send EKGs directly to our doctors. All of these are modern medical miracles. For chronic diseases, especially those that are related to lifestyle, I have found that the most effective approaches are natural, such as oriental medicine, chiropractic, and functional medicine.

Western medicine is indeed in the process of transformation. As with all transformational processes, the breaking up of old familiar structures, as difficult as this may be, eventually gives way to the creation of a dynamic new form. The new form of medicine emerging in the Western world is integrative medicine. Many in the health care field believe that integrative medicine will lower costs for patients, as well as for institutions and corporations involved with health care. We believe that this system will lower the stresses that patients and practitioners currently experience—a system that encourages patients to participate in improving and maintaining their health is beneficial to them and their practitioners.

Integrative Medicine: The Return of the Soul to Health Care is intended for laypeople, health practitioners and their patients, and educational and medical institutions alike. We are all connected. Each of us is a mouthpiece and a mirror for one another. As you find the areas with which you can identify, you will be able to see that you—whether patient or practitioner—play an important role in the evolution of medicine in America.

Integrative Medicine

Bridging

Medical Technology/

Healing Touch

Medicine of the West/

Medicine of the East

Contemporary Knowledge/

Ancient Wisdom

INTRODUCTION

The main points of this book are as follows:

• Western medical technology offers us miracles in lifesaving medications, procedures, surgeries, emergency medicine, and acute illness.

• Natural medicine offers us gentle and noninvasive approaches to many health challenges, the participation and self-empowerment of the patient, and the power of healing.

• Integrative medicine offers the best of both worlds. It is holistic, addressing body, mind, and spirit. It embraces both medicine and healing.

• Integrative medicine has been part of medicine throughout the history of mankind.

• Integrative medicine is practiced in offices, clinics, institutions, and hospitals all over the world and throughout the United States.

• We can empower ourselves to regain our health and live healthy lives.

What exactly is integrative medicine and health? The National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the federal government’s lead agency for scientific research on complementary and integrative health approaches. According to the NCCIH,