Herbal healthcare and processes of change : an ethnographic study of women's contemporary practice and use of western herbal medicine
Despite the growth of alternative medicine, little research has focussed on how individual alternative therapies are practised or examined gender issues in alternative medicine. This ethnographic study of the practice and use of western herbal medicine (WHM) explores the perspectives of women practi...
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Open University
2008
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| Online Access: | http://ethos.bl.uk/OrderDetails.do?uin=uk.bl.ethos.494405 |
| Summary: | Despite the growth of alternative medicine, little research has focussed on how individual alternative therapies are practised or examined gender issues in alternative medicine. This ethnographic study of the practice and use of western herbal medicine (WHM) explores the perspectives of women practitioners and women patients in various settings, including herbal consultations. The study demonstrates how practitioners view and practise WHM as a holistic therapy and illustrates how practitioners and patientsM work in partnership to shape women's individual journeys of healing. Analysis of the empirical data reveals a plurality of approaches to WHM that share a focus on two core principles - the concept of holism and a distinctive therapeutic approach. Practitioners implement their key aim patients through listening to patients' stories. This is mirrored in the themes of 'telling one's story' and 'being listened to' which emerge as women's central experiences of herbal consultations. |
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