About Integrative Health

Treating the Mind, Body and Spirit
Integrative health is a comprehensive approach to care that considers the patient’s unique circumstances. To achieve optimum health and wellbeing, we combine evidence-informed complementary therapies with conventional medicine to determine the most appropriate treatments and therapies for patients.

Whole-person health involves looking at the whole person – not just separate organs or body systems – and considering multiple factors that promote either health or disease. It means helping and empowering individuals, families, communities, and populations to improve their health in multiple interconnected biological, behavioral, social, and environmental areas. Whole-person health focuses on restoring health and promoting resilience in those facing an illness as well as preventing diseases across a lifespan.
(Modified from source: National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health)
NIH defines integrative health / whole-person health Listen to Dr. Shaista Malik explain integrative health
group gathered in nature with sunburst

Integrative health means that when we care for you, we take into account every aspect of your life — your health history, lifestyle, stressors and other factors — to restore your well-being and quality of life.

Shaista Malik, MD, PhD, MPH
Susan Samueli Integrative Health Insitute founding executive director and UCI associate vice chancellor for integrative health

Principles of Integrative Health

Partners

The integrative health approach emphasizes the therapeutic relationship between practitioner and patient, and utilizes a range of evidence-based therapies to prevent and treat the underlying causes of disease.

Consideration

Each patient’s journey at the Samueli Institute begins with a comprehensive assessment. Using conventional as well as advanced and functional diagnostic and laboratory testing, we seek to understand underlying mechanisms and imbalances that may impact health and wellbeing.

Understanding

Our integrative approaches include conventional medical therapies, lifestyle changes with a focus on nutrition, natural products and integrative modalities such as acupuncture, massage and mindfulness.

Whole-Person Wellness

The Susan Samueli Integrative Health Institute focuses on whole-person care addressing mind, body and spirit. Our approach to wellness is a balance of all these aspects from nutrition, to sleep, our environment and the importance of community. 

Nutrition
The foods we eat influence our health and wellbeing. We believe that food is medicine as we equip our patients with practical tools and skills for nourishing the body and working towards their optimal health.
Exercise
Exercise is essential to keep our bodies healthy and our minds strong. Studies continue to show how active movement has multiple short- and long-term benefits. These benefits range from preventing coronary heart disease, reducing inflammation, lowering the risk of dementia, and helping treat anxiety and depression.
Community
Relationships connect us. Our connection with others is an essential part of a healthy and fulfilling life. It’s crucial for our wellbeing to continue to have a sense of purpose and belonging.
Spirituality
Finding meaning, purpose and inner peace in life is essential for spiritual wellness. We aspire to ground ourselves in activities that bring meaning to our lives.
Mind & Body
Mindfulness is the process of compassionately cultivating moment-by-moment awareness. Regular practice can transform our relationship with our thoughts, emotions, bodies and environments. Decades of research demonstrate how mindfulness practices can reduce stress, anxiety and depression.
Environment
Environmental factors play an integral role in our everyday lives. Maintaining a healthy, clean and safe environment is imperative.
Rest
It is vitally important to get the right amount of sleep for you. Getting a healthy amount of sleep ensures that our immune systems operate at their highest function and helps us be resilient to stress.

Who Benefits?

Integrative health and complementary therapies have benefits for everyone. We evaluate and treat a wide range of conditions. Our holistic, evidence-informed approach supports our ability to offer a comprehensive assessment and individualized treatments. We want to empower our patients to be in control of their health and fully thrive.

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Learn More

We invite you to learn more about integrative therapies and their uses, both from us and national sources, some of which are listed on the right.