Holistic health program has new name in its 30th year

WMU integrative holistic health and wellness 30th-anniversary seal.As the Western Michigan University holistic health care program in the College of Health and Human Services celebrates its 30th anniversary in 2012, it also takes on a new name, approved by the WMU Board of Trustees on Feb. 29. The new name, integrative holistic health and wellness, better reflects the mission of the program, as health care moves to a more integrative model.

Retaining the "holistic health" terminology provides for continuity of identity, since it has been affiliated with the program since its inception in 1982. "Wellness" is added to represent the concept of prevention, which is a core aspect of the program. The name change and 30th anniversary will be celebrated with events later this year.

The integrative holistic health and wellness program is one of only four similar higher education programs in the country, offering a graduate certificate and an undergraduate minor. The program's updated mission is to cultivate the inter-connective relationships of individuals' body, mind, and spirit to positively enhance personal, professional, community and global health. It has also set the following goals:

  • To increase students' knowledge regarding holistic health practices and theory.
  • To develop skills that will positively enhance personal, community, and global health and wellness.
  • To cultivate awareness of the inter-connection between body, mind, spirit, and community in order to affect attitudinal change regarding health and wellness.
  • To insure that students have the ability to apply the knowledge, skills, and awareness of holistic health and wellness in their personal and professional lives.
  • To promote sensitivity to the issues of diversity and multiculturalism within the context of the continuum of individual and global health and wellness.