Whole systems complementary and alternative medicine (WS-CAM) approaches share a basic worldview that embraces interconnectedness; emergent, non-linear outcomes to treatment that include both local and global changes in the human condition; a contextual view of human beings that are inseparable from and responsive to their environments; and interventions that are complex, synergistic, and interdependent. These fundamental beliefs and principles run counter to the assumptions of reductionism and conventional biomedical research methods that presuppose unidimensional simple causes and thus dismantle and individually test various interventions that comprise only single aspects of the WSCAM system. This paper will demonstrate the superior fit and practical advantages of using complex adaptive systems (CAS) and related modeling approaches to develop the scientific basis for WS-CAM. Furthermore, the details of these CAS models will be used to provide working hypotheses to explain clinical phenomena such as (a) persistence of changes for weeks to months between treatments and/or after cessation of treatment, (b) nonlocal and whole systems changes resulting from therapy, (c) Hering’s law, and (d) healing crises. Finally, complex systems science will be used to offer an alternative perspective on cause, beyond the simple reductionism of mainstream mechanistic ontology and more parsimonious than the historical vitalism of WS-CAM. Rather, complex systems science provides a scientifically rigorous, yet essentially holistic ontological perspective with which to conceptualize and empirically explore the development of disease and illness experiences, as well as experiences of healing and wellness.

Traditional knowledge of Western herbal medicine (WHM) supports experiential approaches to healing that have evolved over time. This is evident in the use of polyherb formulations comprised of crude plant parts, individually tailored to treat the cause of dysfunction and imbalance by addressing the whole person holistically. The challenge for WHM is to integrate science with traditional knowledge that is a foundation of the practice of WHM. The purpose of this paper is to provide a plausible theoretical hypothesis by applying complex systems science to WHM, illustrating how medicinal plants are complex, adaptive, environmentally interactive systems exhibiting synergy and nonlinear healing causality. This paper explores the conceptual congruence between medicinal plants and humans as complex systems coherently coupled through recurrent interaction. Complex systems science provides the theoretical tenets that explain traditional knowledge of medicinal plants while supporting clinical practice and expanding research and documentation of WHM.

This paper presents state space grids (SSGs) as a mathematically less intensive methodology for processoriented research beyond traditional qualitative and quantitative approaches in whole systems of complementary and alternative medicine (WS-CAM). SSGs, originally applied in developmental psychology research, offer a logical, flexible, and accessible tool for capturing emergent changes in the temporal dynamics of patient behaviors, manifestations of resilience, and outcomes. The SSG method generates a two-dimensional visualization and quantification of the inter-relationships between variables on a moment-to-moment basis. SSGs can describe dyadic interactive behavior in real time and, followed longitudinally, allow evaluation of how change occurs over extended time periods. Practice theories of WS-CAM encompass the holistic health concept of whole-person outcomes, including nonlinear pathways to complex, multidimensional changes. Understanding how the patient as a living system arrives at these outcomes requires studying the process of healing, e.g., sudden abrupt worsening and/or improvements, ‘healing crises’, and ‘unstuckness’, from which the multiple inter-personal and intra-personal outcomes emerge. SSGs can document the indirect, emergent dynamic effects of interventions, transitional phases, and the mutual interaction of patient and environment that underlie the healing process. Two WS-CAM research exemplars are provided to demonstrate the feasibility of using SSGs in both dyadic and within-patient contexts, and to illustrate the possibilities for clinically relevant, process-focused hypotheses. This type of research has the potential to help clinicians select, modify and optimize treatment plans earlier in the course of care and produce more successful outcomes for more patients.

The National Center for Complementary Medicine reports that nonvitamin, nonmineral natural products are the most complementary therapy used in the United States. Almost 20% of the US population uses natural products, spending $14.8 billion on food supplements and herbal therapies that include fish oils, glucosamine, St. John's wort, ginger, and peppermint. Natural products are most commonly used to prevent disease and illness (cardiovascular and musculoskeletal ailments) and promote wellbeing and health (stress reduction and weight loss). Herbs for Weight LossNurse practitioners (NPs) frequently recommend weight loss as a health promotion/risk reduction strategy. Herbal products are widely marketed for their weight loss properties, and patients often query practitioners about their effectiveness and safety. While herbs are not a panacea, they can be used as foods or medicines to complement and support diet and exercise interventions. Herbs as FoodHerbs are used as spices, supplements, foods, and teas to assist in weight control. Spices used in cooking (ginger, cayenne, and fennel) augment digestion, stimulate salivation and gastric secretions, and are antispasmodic. Bitter herbs (chamomile, gentian, or dandelion root) taken as liquids or teas prior to eating stimulate gastric secretions and promote fat and cholesterol breakdown. Herbs added as food increase fiber and expand dietary plant base. Dried nettle leaf (a nutritive) can be added to spaghetti sauce, sprouted fenugreek (modifies blood sugar), and dandelion leaf (balanced diuretic) to salads.Teas provide another way to incorporate herbs into the diet. Herbs can be combined, iced or hot, mild or strong. Quality green tea is a mild appetite suppressant, diuretic, antioxidant, and metabolic enhancer. 2 Herbal teas can also support weight loss and minimize the power of poor dietary choices. Herbal teas increase fluid intake while decreasing the consumption of sweetened juices, sodas, or power beverages. Herbal teas can also be used in soup bases or as foods. Herbal teas as soup stock enhance the weight loss value of the soup.

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