It is often forgotten that modern medicine and, indeed, dynamic psychology only came into existence at the end of the 19th century. Prior to that, those medicines which are now termed "alternative" or "complementary" were the only things available to people in physical, psychological and social distress.

However, the advent of so-called modern, scientific medicine has not managed to reduce the number of individuals who get sick by even the smallest fraction of 1 per cent. Efforts are made to mask this sobering fact with the help of statistical data that refers only to particular groups of symptoms. Thus, victory is trumpeted over certain infectious diseases, for example, without a word about what other symptoms have increased in intensity and frequency over the same period.

No honest perspective will emerge until people begin to look not only at the symptoms but also at illness itself.

Illness has not declined, and there is nothing present in medical practice to suggest that it will decline in the future. Illness has meaning and is as deeply rooted in human nature as death itself. It is not going to be eradicated by biological and technological procedures, no matter how sophisticated. Illness knows only one goal: to make us realise our wholeness.

At present, there is growing dissatisfaction with orthodox medicine and psychiatry and there is a swing back to the more natural forms of healing. However, alternative approaches also have their limitations, particularly those forms that do not help people to identify the intention and purpose of their physical and psycho-social symptoms.

The shift from focusing purely on symptoms - or the preoccupation with causes - to looking at the intention of illness is going to mean breaking down the barriers that exist between religion, philosophy, psychology, sociology and medicine. It must be realised that each discipline represents only part of the whole picture. Regrettably, until all these professions unite under a common banner, each will continue to offer a poor and limited service to those who seek their counsel.

To be healthy is to be whole, achieving the conscious realisation of the unification that exists between the mind, the body and the spirit. This realisation is achieved through all the physical, psychological and social ills that provide us with the opportunities to reveal those aspects of the self that are hidden. Thus physical disease and psycho-social disease are symptoms along the path of realisation which signal a time for change.

Physical disease initially appears as emotional disharmony, then it manifests in the body as physical disease. In short, whatever happens to an individual in their life is not a coincidence, but has a serious purpose.

In terms of a future for medicine, psychiatry, psychology, sociology and religion, a number of developments need to take place. All practitioners, whether orthodox, alternative or complementary, need to consider the whole person - mind, body and spirit - and, following "crisis" intervention, apply their healing practices to encompass the whole person.

Practitioners need to let go of their "superior" position and return to people the responsibility for their own health. Individuals know more about their symptoms than any practitioner, but they are seldom given the opportunity to explore and express their expertise.

All practitioners need to move away from seeing themselves as the "expert" and realise that they are best viewing themselves as a "mirror" in which the person can see their true self.

When the mirror is cracked, blurred or dirty then the picture the person needs to see will be obscured. For this reason, as well as for their own spiritual development, all those who work in the caring professions need to put their own house in order so as to provide as clear a reflection as possible for those who seek their help.

It is now well established that any helper can only bring the person seeking help to the same level of development they have reached themselves. In other words, any professional helping is only as good as the helper.

There is an old Chinese saying that goes "when the student is ready, the teacher appears". My concern is that the person seeking help may be ready for change, but is there a suitable holistic practitioner there ready to act as a clear mirror?

Dr Tony Humphreys is a consultant clinical psychologist and author of The Power of "Negative" Thinking