Indeed, Western medicine was actually founded with the notion of “physician as educator” by Hippocrates, the proclaimed father of Western medicine, more than 2000 years ago. However, in the evolution of medicine’s scientific and technological advances the role of the physician has become that of a disease manager rather than that of an educator. “Prevention” in the medical practice of the West, tends to consist of disease screening (e.g., cholesterol level, bone density, and mammogram screenings) instead of health-promoting practices.
That is not to say that the concept of wellness has been entirely absent in the West. Certain individuals have been instrumental in defining and giving life to wellness practices. As mentioned previously, in 1961 Halbert Dunn introduced the term wellness in his book High Level Wellness. This work was followed in 1977 by Don Ardell’s (1977/1982) High Level Wellness: An Alternative to Doctors, Drugs, and Disease. Ardell extended the concept of wellness to include our relationship to our planet. His work continues to this day.
Another pioneer of the wellness movement in the United States is John W. Travis, MD, MPH. Travis trained at the John Hopkins Medical School and worked in the U.S Public Health Service under the tutelage of Dr. Lewis Robbins, the creator of the Health Risk Appraisal so widely used to this day. Travis was greatly influenced by Abraham Maslow’s concept of self-actualization. Travis decided to dedicate his life to “teaching people to be well” rather than treating patients. He created the first wellness assessment (Wellness Inventory) and authored the classic Wellness Workbook].
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