A significant but short-lived organization created in 1970 in
California with the fundamental concept that spirit and matter are one.
The real essence of healing, according to the academy, must
be found in the oneness and connection of body, mind, and spirit in health and
sickness.
Disease treatment should focus on the full person, and any
long-term physical recovery should include mental, emotional, and spiritual
components.
In a Western setting, this idea restates old Hindu yogateachings.
The academy provided symposia, seminars, and publications to
its members (including APM Report, published quarterly for members).
The school presented its study results to both professional
medical and lay groups after investigating paranormal and unconventional healing.
Between 1971 and 1974, it hosted seven major symposia,
mostly in the San Francisco and Los Angeles regions, as well as Chicago, New
York, and Philadelphia.
Acupuncture and biofeedback one-day seminars and nine
two-day acupuncture courses were among the other activities.
The academy co-sponsored a conference on alternative methods
to treatment of the developmentally impaired in June 1974, which was
co-sponsored by the Florida Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services'
Division of Retardation.
The American Holistic Medical Association was founded in 1978 as a result of the academy's efforts.
The American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) was founded in 1978 and is one of the country's oldest holistic medical organizations.
Its more than 800 members are assisting in the transformation of healthcare by integrating all areas of well-being: physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, environmental, and social.
The American Holistic Medical Association (AHMA) was created with the objective of unifying licensed doctors who practice holistic medicine, and it was initially made up of exclusively licensed practitioners.
AHMA today comprises both licensed and non-licensed practitioners and is a prominent champion for all licensed healthcare professionals to adopt holistic and integrative medicine.
The group is still working to foster camaraderie and cooperation among practitioners, colleagues, and patients.
"Transforming healthcare to a more holistic paradigm is part of our goal," says Terri DiPaola, AHMA's director of education and outreach.
"That entails bringing the allopathic or conventional medical community together with the holistic medical community," she explains.
This is accomplished through collaborating with other integrative health groups, such as the iMosaic conference, which will bring together three other key integrative healthcare organizations and over 1,000 guests next year.
The AHMA's involvement, according to DiPaola, is a first step in working to promote integrative medicine in healthcare.
AHMA is forming local chapters in order to reach out to more practitioners in their respective areas.
Currently, the group has three local chapters, the biggest of which is located in Cleveland, Ohio.
One of the advantages of local chapters, according to DiPaola, is that each site has speakers who talk on a variety of themes all linked to holistic health.
"Our chapter meetings aren't just networking events; they don't just benefit our members—they're often instructional events for the general public," says DiPaola.
AHMA intends to link consumers with holistic practitioners in addition to public education about holistic methods.
"There seems to be a tremendous desire among the public not just to learn more, but also to be able to locate and visit these sorts of specialists," DiPaola observes.
According to DiPaola, one example is the amount of money spent on complementary and alternative medicine in the United States.
According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Americans spent about 34 billion dollars on complementary and alternative therapies in the year 2006-07.
DiPaola predicts development for both AHMA and holistic medicine in the future.
"I only see interest rising because conventional treatment isn't working for a lot of individuals," she adds.
"I only see our membership expanding, as well as the amount of chapters we have." The AHMA will continue to be a vital organization in promoting holistic and integrative medicine, with a mission to increase knowledge of and understanding of holistic medicine, as well as assisting patients in finding holistic healthcare practitioners.
At holisticmedicine.org, you may learn more about AHMA membership.
Further Reading:
The Dimensions of Healing: A Symposium. Los Altos, Calif.: Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine, 1972.
The Varieties of the Healing Experience. Los Altos, Calif.: Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine, 1971.
You may also want to read more about parapsychology and occult sciences here.