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This section should be read in conjunction with the entry on ‘Therapies, General’.
Anthroposophical medicine approaches disease as an imbalance in the biological organism and intends to restore balance. It includes anthroposophical medicines based on modified homeopathic principles, physical therapies, including massage therapy, and artistic therapies. Many of its treatments are intended to support the patient's capacity for self-healing. Anthroposophical medicine is employed as an extension to conventional medicine, not as an alternative to it; orthodox medical treatments such as surgery and allopathic medicine are employed if necessary.
CAP believes that the efficacy and safety of anthroposophical medicine has not been adequately demonstrated through strictly controlled testing and therefore efficacy claims may be made about only the orthodox treatments a physician might employ. Anthroposophical doctors might have a conventional medical education as well as supplementary training in the anthroposophical approach: practitioners seeking to make claims about the therapy as a whole but wanting to rely on the efficacy of conventional medicine should be medically qualified.
Guidance on Health Therapies and Evidence QA (Sept 2011)
Last modified : 10 April 2012