Holistic: A holistic approach to healing recognizes that the emotional, mental, spiritual and physical elements of each person comprise a system. By working with this systems approach the cause of an illness is targeted, rather than just the symptoms. The basic principle is considering a whole thing or being to be more than a collection of parts; Treating the whole person rather than just the Symptoms of a disease. A holistic approach is interested in the whole of the human condition: past, present, and future; biology, society, language, and culture.
Holistic comes from the greek word Holism stemming from holon meaning entity. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, holism is defined as "The tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution."
A holistic approach at times can include the idea that many service users have needs which fall beyond the current limits of social care services and are better yet met with holistic medicine and a holistic approach centered more directly on the whole-being of a patient and not just the symptoms.