Nosson Goldfarb MD Integrative Medicine and Wellness Center Integrative medicine is a healing-oriented approach that encourages a partnership between patient and physician in the healing process. It melds appropriate conventional and alternative methods to facilitate the body's natural healing ability. Ultimately this approach takes into consideration and fuses together all factors that influence health, wellness and disease, including mind, spirit, body as well as community. Physicians who use an integrative approach take the time necessary with each patient to get to the source of the problem instead of taking the more often used approach of masking symptoms with medications. The principles of integrative medicine include the following concepts: A philosophy that neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts alternative therapies uncritically A recognition that good medicine should be based on quality scientific inquiry, driven by the pursuit of truth, and an openness to new paradigms The use of natural and less-invasive interventions whenever possible Approaching health, the prevention of illness as well as the treatment of disease from a broad perspective