Holistic Doctors

This research examines the membership of a support group for physicians who were becoming professionally involved with holistic health. Two general sets of factors seemed involved in these physicians' receptivity to holistic techniques and practices: Experiences of distance from conventional medicine and experiences of alternative medical practice possibilities. The latter in turn were associated with spiritual experiences, personal experiences with illness, and marital or family distress often leading to psychotherapeutic or encounter involvements. Each of these experiences provided alternative conceptualizations with which the physician could understand a range of professional dissatisfactions.