I feel very strongly on this issue, but don't side with one viewpoint or the other. Like most things I do believe in balance.

I do strongly believe in the mind-body connection. And I don't mean that only in a "spiritual" way... more and more science shows that things like our immune system goes through physical changes based on how we feel. So I do believe there is a firm grounds for belief in alternative meds, no matter if you want to interpret them as "spiritual" or "physical" or "placebo".

You're point about the touch therapy is an excellent example. That might relieve stress simply because you are having contact with another human being. But they may call it "healing shakras". But maybe it isn't even two different things, maybe our "energy points" are just what the wisdom of the ages has come to understand as our need to be nurtures and to set the stage for our bodies to heal themselves.

But I don't rule out science either. I'm big on "Western" medicine. I think the medical profession knows a lot and there is a lot that they can do for us. But I don't think that any treatment in the world will work well if we are not emotionally ready to be healed, and that's where the "alternative" stuff might come in, or whatever an individual does to adjust his "state of mind" to fight illness and disease. My only criticism is that some docs discount the importance of our emotional well being when treating us for physical ailments.

There was a series of shows on PBS with Bill Moyers... I can't remember the name but it had to do with medicine and healing and the mind. The different episodes explored different things like Western medicine vs Chinese medicine. One episode followed breast cancer survivors and found that there was a definite statistical correlation showing women who went to a peer support group following surgery had significantly better recovery and less relapse than women who did not. We here at PsychCentral know that already though, don't we

But just as it is wrong for "science" to discount the mind and "alternative" treatments, I also think it is wrong to discount science and go for only the alternative. There can be several things that make this dangerous as downsolong points out. False hope, ridiculous claims.

I think we all need to be on our guard, and be seeking balance, not a magical alternative cure. Things like touch therapy and meditation may help in the treatment of serious diseases. They may be sufficient to CURE some illnesses, in cases where our bodies have sufficient repair facilities but stress is keeping our immune systems from functioning properly.

It is going to be different for every illness and for every individual as to what balance is needed for best healing. This is why things making absolute claims for healing should set up red flags right away. Especially the ones that claim a cure-all for everything. Like taking calcium will cure diabetes, arthritis, mental illness, and a whole host of other things. From a "spiritual" perspective it sounds nice to be able to "unify" everything for simple treatment. And that may be effective for the spiritual side of healing. But you can't mix that up with the mechanical requirements of the body. The body is an immensly complex machine, with electrical systems, chemical systems, all working together and overlapping to function properly. Make it even more complicated by recognizing that our state-of-mind plays an important role in our health. So if one illness may be a result of stress for one person, an invading virus for another, just a body part malfunctioning for another, and for most of us some unique combination of all of these elements, how is one simple "one size fits all" magical treatment going to fix us all?

So what I beleive is that there is no free lunch... gotta do the hard work to be made healthy again... but you also have to be open to all the avenues required for healing and the many many different ways available to tap into those avenues. What might suffice with a doctor and a few aspirin for one person might do better with a doctor and some accupunture with another and with some simple self meditation for a third person.

So in the end, "alternative" just means "choices" and we have to make those choices wisely.