Holistic (also spelled "wholistic") medicine is the ancient art and science of healing that addresses the whole person and emphasizes the inseparable connection of mind, body, and spirit in promoting health and treating illness. Holistic medical care adheres to three basic tenets: recognizing the psychological, environmental, and social contributions to disease; actively involving the patient in the treatment process; and emphasizing preventive medicine, alternative therapies, and a lifestyle that lessens the probability of developing disease.

Over 5,000 years ago, ancient healing traditions in India and China stressed living a healthy life that was in harmony with nature. Socrates (4th century B.C.) also advocating treating the whole person, stating that "the part can never be well unless the whole is well."

The term holism was introduced by Jan Christiaan Smuts in 1926 as a way of viewing living things as "entities greater than and different from the sum...