How Holistic Therapy Evolved
This is the first in a series of articles on holistic therapy history and uses. Most of us understand the surprising benefits of non-traditional approaches to healing, but not the background and methodology employed in such treatment modalities. The goal is to provide a basis of understanding for how the approach of holistic medicine developed and how it works.
Holistic therapy is a phrase often used when discussing the application of non-traditional medical practices. This term and others fall under the broad umbrella of holistic medicine. An awareness of holistic medicine and the application of its elements have become more prominent in recent years; however few discussions center on the history of the development of the movement.
A better understanding of the concept of holistic medicine can be attained by working to understand the evolution of the approach. The roots of holistic medicine can be traced back to individuals and their experiences that were instrumental in developing the lineage of the therapy.
Sir Wilfred Thomason Grenfell was an English born medical missionary who was sent to Newfoundland to improve the plight of fisherman and costal inhabitants by the Royal National Mission in the latter part of the 19th century. The efforts of Grenfell and his team provided much needed care for the population in the north eastern island community of Canada. Although Grenfell’s directive was limited in its expectations, he soon was able to accomplish significant success in multiple areas. His talents went on to help develop other elements of the community that aided in the evolution of the island, including a school, an orphanage, and various industrial work projects. His work was so instrumental that he was knighted by King George V due in large part to the request of the islanders for his years of dedication to their communities.
The widely accepted father of holistic therapy is Evarts Greene Loomis. Born in 1910, Dr. Loomis was influenced heavily by his work on the Grenfell Mission in Newfoundland. Loomis’ work would often require that he travel by boat and dog sled to visit with his patients. During these visits he felt a calling to “treat the whole man.” His involvement with the mission resulted in the development of a therapy that he believed would address the elements that encompassed every human being. He deduced that these elements were the physical, mental, and the spiritual.
Loomis’ development was influenced by a book that he read while a biology student at Haveford College near Philadelphia by Jan Christiaan Smuts. Smuts was a prominent South African, British Statesman, and philosopher who authored the book “Holism and Evolution” in 1926. It is widely accepted that Smuts pioneered the concept of holism which he defined as “the tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution.”
Loomis also acknowledged that his philosophy professor at Haverford, Rufus Jones, influenced his approach on life as well. Aside from being a philosophy professor, Jones (1863-1948) was also known as a writer, magazine editor, and philosopher that was instrumental in the development of the Haveford Emergency Unit (HEU). The HEU was a pre-cursor to a Quaker organization known as the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). The AFSC received the Nobel Peace Prize (along with the British Friends Service Council) on behalf of all Quakers in 1947 for their efforts in providing conscientious objectors to wars with a constructive alternative to military service.
This article was written by John English, a behavioral specialist based in Charlotte, NC. He became a wellness coach as a result of his desire to help improve the lives of those around him. John received a Psychology BA from Hamilton College and a Masters from Queens University. At his practice, The Wellness Coach, he specializes in holistic therapy, emotional healing and personal development.
Tags: emotional healing, holistic medicine, holistic therapy
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