The Handbook of Alternative and Complementary Medicine : The Most Authoritative and Complete Guide to Alternative Medicine

Complementary medicine has become so popular over the past few years that in the UK alone there are now more alternative practitioners than Gps. Extensively rewritten, expanded, and updated, to take account of this dramatic increase, this new edition of The Handbook of Complementary Medicine is the most authoritative and complete guide to alternative medicine in the UK and internationally. The result of extensive research, The Handbook examines the developing social position of aternative medicine, including legal, political, scientific, educational, and demographic aspects, and considers why people choose complementary therapies, how many do so, and what happens during and after their treatment. For each therapy, there is a concise review of the theoretical, practical, and research aspects, written in collaboration with a leading practitioner. The book also includes an invaluable resource guide, covering all the significant colleges, professional bodies, and societies in this area of medicine (over 250 organizations), as well as an extensive glossary and bibliography. Charting the growing level of interest among medical professionals and the general public, the coverage of research has been expanded in this third edition, and new sections have been added dealing with the National Health Service and education.