Paths to Healing: An Examination of Psychoneuroimmunology and its Implications for Collaborative Medine

The advent of recent research in the field of psychoneuroimmunology has brought about a revival of interest in the mind/body connection. Because recent research has shown that mental state may affect health, many physicians and the lay public alike are considering methods of therapy that may improve mental health, as well as physical health. When methods such as medication, psychotherapy, and traditional Chinese medicine are practiced as an adjunct to conventional Western medicine, the results have been quite successful. This collaborative medical approach has the potential to improve the potency of Western medicine by creating a system of medicine that will treat the whole person, and not just the illness.