ABSTRACT
Any rounded consideration of health professions in Britain should include not only their operation within orthodox boundaries, but also the interface between orthodox and unorthodox medicine. This is underlined by the rapid growth in popularity of alternative medicine in this country in modern times, following a similar pattern to that of many other parts of Europe (Sharma 1992). This interest has covered a wide range of therapies-from chiropractic and healing at one end of the spectrum to reflexology and aromatherapy at the other-that still lie outside mainstream medicine in terms of the level of official acknowledgement and support (Saks 1992a). With spiralling public interest in such therapies over the past two or three decades variously related to such factors as the perceived crisis of orthodox medicine and a desire for greater personal engagement in health care (Saks 1994), the future relationship between the medical profession and alternative medicine in Britain has become a significant matter of public debate. This debate partly centres on the role of the state, especially in view of the passage of the 1993 Osteopaths Act, which-in providing for the protection of title of qualified osteopathic practitioners within a legislatively underwritten framework of self-regulation (Standen 1993)—has created a climate of heightened expectation amongst practitioners of alternative therapies about their prospects which may or may not be realized in the future.
