The Clinical Medicine Guide -
A Holistic Perspective

Reviews by aromatherapists:

The International Journal of Aromatherapy 2002, vol 12, n3.

Review by Gabriel Mojay

The Clinical Medicine Guide, is one of the most valuable resources available to practitioners seeking to shore up their clinical knowledge of disease and its causes. Although it will always prove useful to natural therapists of all persuasions, it is particularly of interest to those with a background in Oriental medicine.

The book's unique approach to aetiology and pathology is reflected in the broad clinical experience of its author. Qualified in medicine since 1976, Dr Stephen Gascoigne worked for over six years in hospital and general practice before training in acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine in London and Shanghai, China. He is also the author of The. Prescribed Drug Guide - A Holistic Perspective and The Chinese Way to Health, and runs a busy practice in West Cork, Ireland.

The Clinical Medicine Guide is an authoritative, in-depth and yet highly readable critical survey of the treatment of diseases by conventional Western medicine - further illuminated by the discussion of their causes and treatment according  to  traditional  Chinese medicine. Dr Gascoigne's heavily referenced, incisive surveys of the treatment of every important pathological process makes his work both encyclopaedic and clinically contemplative - the latter being a reflection, perhaps, of his Buddhist practice.

Each chapter of the book covers a specific bodily system. Of particular practical value to the therapist are the sections that, appearing at the end of each chapter, deal with recognising the signs and symptoms of a serious condition of that system. This is precisely the kind of information that any natu- ral therapist clearly needs to be well aware of.

To quote the author, "In this book 1 have concentrated on describing processes in plain English. Many textbooks are aimed at medical students; hence they are very detailed and written in an overly technical language... The main aim of this book is to provide information to those who need access to conven- tional medical information that is clear and concise."

The book, from one perspective, is a study in 'comparative medicine.' Dr Gascoigne writes that "comparisons between conventional and holistic medical systems need to be drawn with care. Conventional disease labels are fixed entities and apply to people with slightly different clinical pictures and widely different underlying energetic disturbances."

It is with this depth of insight - applied to both conventional and energetic viewpoints - that makes Stephen Gascoigne's book the essential text that it undoubtedly is.

Julia Lawless -Aromatherapist (IFA) and Natural Health Writer

The Clinical Medicine Guide is a very thorough and comprehensive reference manual which is of value to both conventional and complementary health practitioners alike.  It is unique in combining clinical theory and practice with holistic advice from a range of treatments.  Well researched and authoritative in its approach, the text includes numerous case studies based on the author’s first hand experience.  I particularly appreciate the open mindedness and the generosity of tone, since the underlying principals of the book reach beyond both the physical and psychological definitions of health and extend towards the importance of the spiritual dimension for complete well being.