Dr. Merry Ceppie provides an introduction to integrative medicine.

Defining principles of integrative medicine:

• The patient and practitioner are partners in the healing process. 
• All factors that influence health, wellness, and disease are taken into consideration, including mind, spirit, and community, as well as the body. 
• Appropriate use of both conventional and alternative method facilitates the body's innate healing response.
• Effective interventions that are natural and less invasive should be used whenever possible.
• Integrative medicine neither rejects conventional medicine, nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically.
• Good medicine is based in good science. It is inquiry-driven and open to new paradigms. 
• Alongside the concept of treatment, the broader concepts of health promotion and the prevention of illness are paramount. 
• Practitioners of integrative medicine should exemplify its principles and commit themselves to self-exploration and self-development