Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2013 10:30:14 GMT -5
The AHVMA has a list of holistic vets that can be searched by location.
The good news is that the AHVMA has international members - I noticed entries from both the UK and Canada - I did not look for Australia or other locations.
Here is the link: ahvma.org/
When you get to the home page, you'll see some red writing (Click to find a holistic vet) outlined in a red "box" toward the upper right hand side of the main pane on the page. this is how to get to the search page.
On the left, you'll see some links, including links to other vet associations such as acupuncture, homeopathy, etc.
These other organizations may have search engines as well.
Remember, integrative medicine will vary depending upon which modalities the particular vet embraces. Another thing to remember is that I recommend that you have a traditional ferret vet as well as a holistic vet since many holistic vets are NOT ferret vets. Also be aware that, if you start seeing 2 vets, you need to let both vets know that you are seeking ferret expertise from one and holistic care from another. Holistic care tends to be more about wellness.
I am extremely lucky because my traditional ferret vet (now retired [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/![]()
i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/T_T.png"].png[/IMG] ) had a holistic vet practicing in his office for years, which means he values the alternative modalities. Also, my holistic vet used to see ferrets when he had a full practice. He's now semi-retired and provides limited services, but he will work with your traditional ferret vet to provide complementary support for a full-time practice.
-jennifer
This stuff below was just added to this original post so you dn't have to read the whole thread to see the oucome of the conversation, which is a discussion on what holiistic medicine is and how to find a good holistic vet.
Here's the new stuff......sorry for the "book", but the more I thought about this question, the better the question got
===========================
HOW TO SELECT A HOLISTIC VET
===========================
As mentioned above, holistic vets can be VERY different from traditional vets. So, why is this? And how do you select a holistic vet without wasting a bunch of time and money???
In a nutshell, you need to understand what you WANT from a holistic practitioner. Then you need to understand what is AVAILABLE.
Here's an outline of things discuss below to help answer these questions:
1. The Mustelidmusk Medicine Model – the dilemna
2. Terminology and Modalities - different types of "medicine"
3. Mustelidmusk Commentary – Preferences and OPINIONS [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/![]()
i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/0_0.gif"].gif[/IMG]
4. List of questions for selecting a holistic vet
a.Understanding YOUR preferences
b.Understanding the VET’s preferences
THE “MUSTELIDMUSK MEDICINE MODEL” - LOL!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This discussion is all based upon MY OWN experiences. I have come up with MY OWN model of what holistic medicine means to ME.
First, I will attempt to define holistic medicine in terms of a goal - what is the PRIMARY COMMON OBJECTIVE shared by ALL holistic practitioners??
MY Answer = There is NONE!
I have found NEITHER CONSISTENT OBJECTIVES NOR COMMON PRACTICES in medicine; however, “holistic medicine” can differ much more than traditional medicine. Everybody has their own flavor. You may find a "holistic vet" who is no different from your traditional vet - except he/she may be an advocate of surgery coupled with vitamins. The opposite end of the spectrum may involve dancing naked in the streets under a blue moon to cure cancer. Of course there's everything in between.
As I examined my experiences, I came up with my own “model” for explaining my thoughts about medicine, which is summarized in the Philosophies section that follows.
PHILOSOPHIES
--------------------
Since I have found no truly consistent/common definition for holistic medicine that’s tangibly meaningful to me, I will discuss DIFFERENCES instead. The following "definitions" will summarize differences in philosophy based upon MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with both human and vet holistic doctors.
* The WHOLE SELF philosophy:
holistic medicine addresses the whole self, including the body, the mind, and the spirit. This is a theoretical philosophy that all holistic vets will say they support if you ask them. However, this rhetoric is fairly meaningless since MOST do NOT truly PRACTICE this philosophy. Most vets operate in their preferred comfort zone, which typically involves the use of mostly ONE of the following philosophies. The problem here is that this is the “holistic stereotype” is NOT the reality for what most practitioners truly provide.
* The HEALTH philosophy:
The Health philosophy focuses on maintenance of HEALTH. Prevention of illness is another way to look at this. One can argue that there’s a difference between the two, but I’m more interested in general concept at this point in the conversation.
* The SYMPTOM FIX philosophy:
The Symptom Fix philosophy involves the fixing of symptoms of illness to make you feel better. You may take an antihistamine to alleviate allergies. This is a symptom fix, which is commonly temporary in nature because the underlying problem is not addressed.
* The ROOT CAUSE FIX philosophy:
Root Cause Fix philosophy involves fixing the root cause of illness to eliminate the source of the symptom/illness. You may take allergy shots to balance out your immune system. This is a “traditional medicine” root cause fix because it addresses the immune system in a homeopathic, “like treats like” fashion.
In MY OPINION, a GOOD vet practices the “WHOLE SELF” philosophy, which involves 2 essential requirements:
1. Practice of ALL philosophies: HEALTH, SYMPTOM FIX, AND ROOT CAUSE.
2. Practice a BALANCED mix of these 3 philosophies, as best suited to the patient
Please note that some "traditional" vets ARE HOLISTIC. They simply use traditional tools/modalities. The quality/results of ALL tools, traditional and alternative, will VARY depending upon treatment cnosen and philosophical intent of the treatment.
So….by now we see that “holistic medicine” has 2 components: “holistic” and “medicine”. “Holistic” is a philosophy only. “Medicine” involves tools/modalities to address the philosophical goal. Tools may be traditional or alternative – or a combination of both.
TERMINOLOGY and MODALITIES
-------------------------------------------
This section includes definitions (terminology) for different types of medical therapies practiced. Information in this section basically provides a quick, stereotypical description of some of the more common practices. Basically, these are standard, generally accepted definitions for terms you may hear. This, by no means, is a complete list, neither do these definitions seek to identify discrete classes of medicine – definitions may overlap, and some terms may be more “philosophical” rather than “medicine-related”. Again, definitions can vary from one person to the next.
Types of medicine:
****************
Allopathic Medicine: Traditional “Western Medicine”. Conventional medicine. May be holistic in nature.
Alternative Medicine: Practices used in place of allopathic treatments. May be holistic in nature.
Philosophy:
*********
Complementary Medicine: Use of Alternative medicine to replace and/or complement allopathic treatment. Also called Integrative Medicine. Is typically holistic in nature.
Holistic Medicine: Medical practice that addresses body, mind and spirit. Typically incorporates alternative medicine. May include allopathic treatment as well.
Integrative medicine: Use of Alternative medicine to replace and/or complement allopathic treatment. Also called Complementary medicine. Is typically holistic in nature.
Modalities:
********************
Modalities can be described as the different “systems” of medical treatment, such as TCM, homeopathy, Chiropractic, etc.
Ayurvedic medicine: ancient East Indian system of medicine that promotes balance in life. Diet, herbals, exercise, meditation, surgery, massage, etc.
nccam.nih.gov/health/ayurveda/introduction.htm
Botanical/Herbal Medicine: plant-based remedies.
www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/herbal-medicine-000351.htm
Bach Flower Essence Therapy: (includes rescue remedy) addresses mood imbalances. very similar to homeopathy. Based upon flower essences.
www.bachflower.com/original-bach-flower-remedies/
Chiropractic medicine: promotes health, vitality and healing through alignment of the spine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic
Homeopathic medicine: system of medicine based upon the theory that “like cures like”. Uses diluted amounts of medicine to stimulate the body to heal itself. This is a distinct system of medicine that is NOT simply another name for holistic medicine, which can include MANY modalities of medicine. Not all holistic vets practice homeopathy!
www.webmd.com/balance/guide/homeopathy-topic-overview
Naturopathic Medicine: Naturopathic medicine is based on the use of naturally occurring substances to promote healing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathy
Nutraceutical medicine: Uses nutrients and supplements to promote health and healing
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1476322/?page=1
Reiki: Japanese system of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing based upon transfer of KI (life energy) through touch.
www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): Chinese system promoting health an healing through herbal and natural substance remedies, massage, acupuncture, exercise, meditation, moxibustion, cupping, qi healing (Chinese Reiki)
nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/chinesemed.htm
TO BE CONTINUED......work in progress
The good news is that the AHVMA has international members - I noticed entries from both the UK and Canada - I did not look for Australia or other locations.
Here is the link: ahvma.org/
When you get to the home page, you'll see some red writing (Click to find a holistic vet) outlined in a red "box" toward the upper right hand side of the main pane on the page. this is how to get to the search page.
On the left, you'll see some links, including links to other vet associations such as acupuncture, homeopathy, etc.
These other organizations may have search engines as well.
Remember, integrative medicine will vary depending upon which modalities the particular vet embraces. Another thing to remember is that I recommend that you have a traditional ferret vet as well as a holistic vet since many holistic vets are NOT ferret vets. Also be aware that, if you start seeing 2 vets, you need to let both vets know that you are seeking ferret expertise from one and holistic care from another. Holistic care tends to be more about wellness.
I am extremely lucky because my traditional ferret vet (now retired [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/
-jennifer
This stuff below was just added to this original post so you dn't have to read the whole thread to see the oucome of the conversation, which is a discussion on what holiistic medicine is and how to find a good holistic vet.
Here's the new stuff......sorry for the "book", but the more I thought about this question, the better the question got
===========================
HOW TO SELECT A HOLISTIC VET
===========================
As mentioned above, holistic vets can be VERY different from traditional vets. So, why is this? And how do you select a holistic vet without wasting a bunch of time and money???
In a nutshell, you need to understand what you WANT from a holistic practitioner. Then you need to understand what is AVAILABLE.
Here's an outline of things discuss below to help answer these questions:
1. The Mustelidmusk Medicine Model – the dilemna
2. Terminology and Modalities - different types of "medicine"
3. Mustelidmusk Commentary – Preferences and OPINIONS [img src="http://i1105.photobucket.com/albums/h352/JW_2012/Emoticons/
4. List of questions for selecting a holistic vet
a.Understanding YOUR preferences
b.Understanding the VET’s preferences
THE “MUSTELIDMUSK MEDICINE MODEL” - LOL!!!
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
This discussion is all based upon MY OWN experiences. I have come up with MY OWN model of what holistic medicine means to ME.
First, I will attempt to define holistic medicine in terms of a goal - what is the PRIMARY COMMON OBJECTIVE shared by ALL holistic practitioners?
?MY Answer = There is NONE!
I have found NEITHER CONSISTENT OBJECTIVES NOR COMMON PRACTICES in medicine; however, “holistic medicine” can differ much more than traditional medicine. Everybody has their own flavor. You may find a "holistic vet" who is no different from your traditional vet - except he/she may be an advocate of surgery coupled with vitamins. The opposite end of the spectrum may involve dancing naked in the streets under a blue moon to cure cancer. Of course there's everything in between.
As I examined my experiences, I came up with my own “model” for explaining my thoughts about medicine, which is summarized in the Philosophies section that follows.
PHILOSOPHIES
--------------------
Since I have found no truly consistent/common definition for holistic medicine that’s tangibly meaningful to me, I will discuss DIFFERENCES instead. The following "definitions" will summarize differences in philosophy based upon MY OWN PERSONAL EXPERIENCE with both human and vet holistic doctors.
* The WHOLE SELF philosophy:
holistic medicine addresses the whole self, including the body, the mind, and the spirit. This is a theoretical philosophy that all holistic vets will say they support if you ask them. However, this rhetoric is fairly meaningless since MOST do NOT truly PRACTICE this philosophy. Most vets operate in their preferred comfort zone, which typically involves the use of mostly ONE of the following philosophies. The problem here is that this is the “holistic stereotype” is NOT the reality for what most practitioners truly provide.
* The HEALTH philosophy:
The Health philosophy focuses on maintenance of HEALTH. Prevention of illness is another way to look at this. One can argue that there’s a difference between the two, but I’m more interested in general concept at this point in the conversation.
* The SYMPTOM FIX philosophy:
The Symptom Fix philosophy involves the fixing of symptoms of illness to make you feel better. You may take an antihistamine to alleviate allergies. This is a symptom fix, which is commonly temporary in nature because the underlying problem is not addressed.
* The ROOT CAUSE FIX philosophy:
Root Cause Fix philosophy involves fixing the root cause of illness to eliminate the source of the symptom/illness. You may take allergy shots to balance out your immune system. This is a “traditional medicine” root cause fix because it addresses the immune system in a homeopathic, “like treats like” fashion.
In MY OPINION, a GOOD vet practices the “WHOLE SELF” philosophy, which involves 2 essential requirements:
1. Practice of ALL philosophies: HEALTH, SYMPTOM FIX, AND ROOT CAUSE.
2. Practice a BALANCED mix of these 3 philosophies, as best suited to the patient
Please note that some "traditional" vets ARE HOLISTIC. They simply use traditional tools/modalities. The quality/results of ALL tools, traditional and alternative, will VARY depending upon treatment cnosen and philosophical intent of the treatment.
So….by now we see that “holistic medicine” has 2 components: “holistic” and “medicine”. “Holistic” is a philosophy only. “Medicine” involves tools/modalities to address the philosophical goal. Tools may be traditional or alternative – or a combination of both.
TERMINOLOGY and MODALITIES
-------------------------------------------
This section includes definitions (terminology) for different types of medical therapies practiced. Information in this section basically provides a quick, stereotypical description of some of the more common practices. Basically, these are standard, generally accepted definitions for terms you may hear. This, by no means, is a complete list, neither do these definitions seek to identify discrete classes of medicine – definitions may overlap, and some terms may be more “philosophical” rather than “medicine-related”. Again, definitions can vary from one person to the next.
Types of medicine:
****************
Allopathic Medicine: Traditional “Western Medicine”. Conventional medicine. May be holistic in nature.
Alternative Medicine: Practices used in place of allopathic treatments. May be holistic in nature.
Philosophy:
*********
Complementary Medicine: Use of Alternative medicine to replace and/or complement allopathic treatment. Also called Integrative Medicine. Is typically holistic in nature.
Holistic Medicine: Medical practice that addresses body, mind and spirit. Typically incorporates alternative medicine. May include allopathic treatment as well.
Integrative medicine: Use of Alternative medicine to replace and/or complement allopathic treatment. Also called Complementary medicine. Is typically holistic in nature.
Modalities:
********************
Modalities can be described as the different “systems” of medical treatment, such as TCM, homeopathy, Chiropractic, etc.
Ayurvedic medicine: ancient East Indian system of medicine that promotes balance in life. Diet, herbals, exercise, meditation, surgery, massage, etc.
nccam.nih.gov/health/ayurveda/introduction.htm
Botanical/Herbal Medicine: plant-based remedies.
www.umm.edu/altmed/articles/herbal-medicine-000351.htm
Bach Flower Essence Therapy: (includes rescue remedy) addresses mood imbalances. very similar to homeopathy. Based upon flower essences.
www.bachflower.com/original-bach-flower-remedies/
Chiropractic medicine: promotes health, vitality and healing through alignment of the spine.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiropractic
Homeopathic medicine: system of medicine based upon the theory that “like cures like”. Uses diluted amounts of medicine to stimulate the body to heal itself. This is a distinct system of medicine that is NOT simply another name for holistic medicine, which can include MANY modalities of medicine. Not all holistic vets practice homeopathy!
www.webmd.com/balance/guide/homeopathy-topic-overview
Naturopathic Medicine: Naturopathic medicine is based on the use of naturally occurring substances to promote healing.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naturopathy
Nutraceutical medicine: Uses nutrients and supplements to promote health and healing
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1476322/?page=1
Reiki: Japanese system of physical, emotional, and spiritual healing based upon transfer of KI (life energy) through touch.
www.reiki.org/faq/whatisreiki.html
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM): Chinese system promoting health an healing through herbal and natural substance remedies, massage, acupuncture, exercise, meditation, moxibustion, cupping, qi healing (Chinese Reiki)
nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/chinesemed.htm
TO BE CONTINUED......work in progress
