ABSTRACT
This part introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters. The part provides the key themes of the collection, and focuses on Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in practice, the various and diverse settings in which CAM are being used and the diverse experiences that using CAM can bring. The part explores the issue of the use of CAM with people with various forms of mental distress, raising the important issue of evidence. It shows that the user’s subjective experience of massage and aromatherapy is important to assessing its value. The part also focuses on the empowering qualities of using CAMs in palliative care settings. It discusses their journeys to become practitioners in CAM and their personal experience of the use of CAM. The part describes how as a general practitioner she became aware that there were other ways of treating illness and helping people towards regaining health than those offered by orthodox treatment.
