This comparative text examines the rise of non-orthodox medicine and theorizes the changing nature of health care in modern societies. It engages with sociological debates on modernity and postmodernity, anthropological work.

The growing popularity of alternative therapies poses challenging questions for the medical establishment and the state. By confronting these questions, The Healing Bond makes an important contribution to current debates about health care. The contributors, who are all experts in the fields of health care, social science and the law, focus on the relationship between patient and healer in both orthodox and non-orthodox forms of healing practice. They consider whether different forms of healing involve widely differing conceptions of the role and responsibilities of the healer, and deal with topical issues such as medical litigation, codes of ethics for complementary practitioners, and co-operation between orthodox and complementary medicine.

The growing popularity of alternative therapies poses challenging questions for the medical establishment and the state. By confronting these questions, The Healing Bond makes an important contribution to current debates about health care. The contributors, who are all experts in the fields of health care, social science and the law, focus on the relationship between patient and healer in both orthodox and non-orthodox forms of healing practice. They consider whether different forms of healing involve widely differing conceptions of the role and responsibilities of the healer, and deal with topical issues such as medical litigation, codes of ethics for complementary practitioners, and co-operation between orthodox and complementary medicine.

Until recently, complementary medical knowledge has generally been treated as 'marginal' or 'heterodox' knowledge. However, the rise of complementary medicine within health-care systems has signalled the end of its marginal status. With this have come concerns about how knowledge is generated within complementary therapies; what kind of authority can be accorded to such knowledge; the nature of research agendas; what ideas and skills are central to training and how they are transmitted. This book examines these concerns in relation to a range of healing practices: acupuncture, homeopathy, chiropractic, reflexology, Chi Kung, herbalism and osteopathy. The contributors to bring sociological, anthropological and practitioner perspectives to the growing debate about the future of complementary medicine.