This extraordinary new series fills a void in practitioner development and well-being. The books take a reflective step back from the tick-box, target-driven and increasingly regulated world of 21st century health practice; and invite us to revisit what health and health practice actually are. Building carefully on the science and philosophy of health, each book addresses the messy, complex and often chaotic world of real-life health practice and offers an ancient but now almost revolutionary understanding for students and experienced practitioners alike: that health practice is a...

'In order to provide integrated healthcare, we need to integrate a huge number of...entities. Each one of these entities can be a useful tool for our practice. To be effective practitioners, we hope to gain some mastery of them. But sometimes we feel as if they have mastery of us. There are days when we feel on top of our game, we keep to time, we know instantly what's wrong, the right treatment is immediately to hand, our colleagues are supportive and helpful, and birdsong drifts through our open summer window. Then there are the other days...' Justin Amery This extraordinary new series...

'If...we feel better able to express and explore who we are, we may find that our health practice can also become a 'self-practice' in which we can create healthier existences for ourselves too. At the heart of it all communication is the search for brighter light, for insight, even for enlightenment. Insight illuminates darkness, listening fosters understanding, and speaking helps dispel the seeds of despair. That is the virtuous cycle that lies at the heart of effective practice.' Justin Amery This extraordinary new series fills a void in practitioner development and well-being. The books...

'Health practice has always been many things, with many constraints and pressures. These things have changed over time and still vary from place to place. Being a practitioner here and now is, from one perspective, no different to the way it has always been. It involves integration. It involves weaving together many threads into one whole tapestry. It involves taking a constrained and limited palate and painting freely. It may be a science, it may be technical, it may be psychological, it may be spiritual, but it is always an art, because it integrates everything in order to create. And what...

Everything that exists, exists against a background. All of our experiences, beliefs and understandings of health practice derive from a living, organic and constantly moving context: whether scientific, philosophical, cultural, aesthetic, biological or spiritual. It is useful therefore to spend a little time understanding and reflecting on these building blocks of who we are. As practitioners, we don't always have time to do this...A little luxury...not essential, but hopefully a bit nourishing. Like a fireside cup of cocoa. - Justin Amery This extraordinary new series fills a void in...