The experience of using a combination of complementary therapies: a journey of balance through self-healing.

Literature on complementary or alternative therapies from the perspective of personal experience is limited, and to date, there are no published studies using a qualitative approach to study the contextual effects of combined complementary therapies. Evaluating the use of combinations of complementary therapies from the perspective of those who experience them is important in understanding their beneficial and synergistic effects. This article is a report of the findings of a hermeneutic phenomenological study on the lived experience of 8 guests participating in a structured naturopathic program that used combinations of complementary/alternative therapies to promote healing in illness.