The return of the shaman: the emergence of a biopsychosocial approach to health and healing

Abstract: Archeological and anthropological evidence suggests that all forms of healing throughout the world originate in the ancient practices of shamanism, which are rooted in mysticism and magic. This paper briefly traces the history of Western medicine, indicating the cultural influences and developments which have obscured the shamanic tradition of healing,- and identifying contemporary factors which are prompting a reconsideration and reappraisal of its principles and practices, and their implications for medicine within Western culture. It argues that from this growing rapprochement between orthodox Western medicine and approaches which have been regarded as incompatible alternatives, a common framework is emerging which renders obsolete any such distinctions, suggesting, as it does, a fundamental complementarity of all systems of healing.

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