Members of this culture are most afraid of being seen as quacks or judged crazy, wicked or foolish. They spend a considerable amount of time thinking about the meaning of life and often devote themselves to alternative health care precisely because of this life commitment. Therefore, when their work is criticized or discounted, they are particularly wounded. What if there is no spirituality? What if these models of health are found to be inadequate? Voice, confidence, and credibility are important. Members of the alternative culture often find themselves on the defensive. They are often being defined by what they oppose rather than by what they support.
The alternative culture touches communities of believers. Whether this is a Tai Chi club, a group of people dedicated to eating a particular diet, or an institution formed around a set of spiritual beliefs, there is a clear set of beliefs and a community that provides support. As in the case of professional health care providers, alternative practitioners assume the authority to touch people. However, they touch people not only in order to heal their body, but also to heal their soul. They seek to heal the whole person. This authority to touch is given to them by both the individual and the community to which they belong. Prevention and amelioration are equally important. The emphasis on both prevention and amelioration is intended to reduce anxiety for both providers and recipients.
Members of the alternative culture have strong theories about how to organize for maximum effectiveness. These theories often focus on the retention of flexibility and promotion of continuing dialogue and innovation, while also demonstrating thoughtfulness and credibility in a still-skeptical outer world. Members of this culture would welcome a strategy for organizational change—if it helps reduce their anxiety regarding non-acceptance and the ultimate meaningfulness of their work in the life they have chosen to live.
This culture has always played a marginal role in the North American health care system. It has been populated by faith healers, herbalists and foreign-trained practitioners of ancient healing arts. Alternative healers have operated spas, provided massage and offered televised instruction regarding new models of health and happiness. Some of these practitioners have been charlatans, while other have been visionaries and insightful innovators.
Alternative healers and their often-controversial methods have usually served as counterpoints to the dominant medical orthodoxy of their time. Alternative medical practices have often been set against those medical practices that are represented in and by the professional culture and, to a varying extent, are also represented in and by the managerial culture. When we move past this theme of contention and anti-establishment opposition, we discover that alternative practitioners find meaning primarily in the creation of programs and activities for comprehensive health care that cross over traditional health care boundaries.
Alternative healthcare practitioners also find meaning in fostering the personal and professional growth of all participants in their health care community. They are inclined, in particular, to view their patient as a partner rather than an object of care. Members of the alternative culture hold assumptions about the inherent desire of all men and women to attain and sustain their own personal health and maturity, while helping others in the community become healthier and more mature.
