Holistic Health
The Holistic Health program is an interdisciplinary minor housed in the School of General Studies. Its goal is to advance the understanding of complementary and alternative health care through education, critical thinking and research. It is not a training program that will allow students to practice in any given field. Further professional training and licensing appropriate to a particular field would be required for that. The program is designed to provide students the knowledge and background necessary to understand relevant issues in holistic health. The two main goals of the program are:
1. Educational: To provide courses taught by a qualified and interdisciplinary faculty that identify and define the available holistic therapies and their relevance in modern health care. Students learn the philosophical rationales and aesthetic foundations for such therapies. Further, they learn to think critically about holistic health and health care, evaluating therapies on the basis of empirical, peer-reviewed research, and to apply this perspective to decision-making processes.
2. Research: To encourage faculty and students to collaborate in undertaking quality research. These efforts would help address the need to evaluate critically and fairly the theoretical bases, efficacy and safety of holistic treatments and their role in the health care system.
The program is open to students in all majors. Students should contact the coordinator of the Holistic Health program to indicate their interest in pursuing the minor. It also is helpful for students to inform their preceptor of their intention to pursue the minor as the requirements for Holistic Health can simultaneously fulfill other graduation requirements. With early planning, the requirements for the Holistic Health minor can be fulfilled within the framework of completing any undergraduate degree at the College.
Requirements for a minor
Completing a minor in Holistic Health involves completion of a total of 20 undergraduate credits. Two courses are needed to fulfill the required core courses, along with an additional three elective courses.
Required Core Courses
Students are required to complete one course from cluster A and one from cluster B (seebelow). These courses provide students with a broad introduction to holistic health, as well as background in research methodology. While POLS 2150 is a political science course, it covers the relevant research background and techniques, and students can arrange with the instructor for the research projects to cover holistic health-related topics.
Cluster A: General Introduction to Holistic Health
GNM 2201 Health and Healing
GNM 1026/2144 Alternative Health Care
Cluster B: Research Methodology Courses
GEN 3411 Research Methods
POLS 2150 Introduction to Political Methodology
PUBH 4610 Public Health Research Methods
Elective Courses
The following is a list of courses that may serve as electives toward completion of the minor. As other courses are added in the future, they also may be considered to serve as electives provided that their content is appropriate for the minor. In addition, students may elect to complete an independent study that would serve as an elective. An independent study allows the student to pursue a particular area of holistic health in greater depth when the topic is not already covered comprehensively by an existing course.
ANTH 2136 World Perspectives on Health
GEN 1016/GEN 2516 Mind Body Conditioning
GEN 2319 Meditation: Theory & Practice
GEN 3617 Wellness and Peer Education
GIS 3207 Contemporary Issues in Bioethics
GIS 4636 Yoga: East Meets West
GNM 2206 Herbal Medicine
GNM 2336 Modern Health Issues
GNM 2267 Folk & Traditional Medicine
GSS 2351 Herbal Psychopharmacology
GSS 3160 Stress and Anxiety
PHIL 2111 Daoism
PHIL 3112 Philosophy East and West
PSYC 2212 Health Psychology
PSYC 3635 Positive Psychology
PUBH 2432 Contemporary Health Issues
SOWK 3220 Aging and Spirituality
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES
A large proportion of Americans consult complementary and alternative treatments for health problems, particularly chronic conditions such as back problems, anxiety, depression and headaches. For example, more than half of Americans experiencing anxiety or depression report using alternative therapies to treat these conditions. Recent estimates indicate that over $20 billion per year are spent on holistic health treatments for illness. A sizable proportion of Americans do not inform healthcare providers about their use of such therapies. A majority of American medical schools report that they now offer some course work on holistic health, although many healthcare workers feel inadequately informed about the topic. The minor in Holistic Health provides useful background to those interested in pursuing careers in government, journalism, insurance, and any of the various forms of healthcare (e.g., medicine, nursing, physical therapy, occupational therapy).
For more information, contact the Holistic Health Program Coordinator, Tara Crowell, Tara.Crowell@stockton.edu, Division of Arts and Humanities, The Richard Stockton College of New Jersey, Jim Leeds Road, Pomona, NJ 08240-0195, (609) 626-6835. To declare a minor, use this form.
The Faculty
Elaine Bukowski
DPT (Drexel University), Professor of Physical Therapy: geriatric physical therapy, orthopedic physical therapy, extremity kinesiology, gross anatomy, complementary medicine.
Ronald Caplan
Ph.D. (University of Massachusetts), Associate Professor of Public Health: health economics, health policy.
Tara Crowell
Ph.D. (Univ. of Oklahoma), Associate Professor of Public Health; health communication, social marketing, quantitative research methods.
Mary Lou Galantino
Ph.D. (Temple University), Professor of Physical Therapy: neuromuscular physical therapy, chronic pain, HIV, systemic diseases, long-term care rehabilitation, complementary medicine, yoga and hypertension, osteoarthritis and acupuncture, meditation for healthcare professionals.
Laurie Greene
Ph.D. (Tulane Univeristy), Professor of Anthropology: language and culture, anthropology of men and women, Latine America and Carribbean cultures, cultures in education, social activism.
Maritza Jauregui
PhD. (University of California, Irvine), Assistant Professor of Public Health: environmental health, environmental justice, occupational health.
Thomas Nolan
M.S. (Temple University), Associate Professor of Physical Therapy: orthopedic and sports physical therapy, spinal kinesiology, electrotherapy.
Marcello Spinella
Ph.D. (City University of New York), Associate Professor of Psychology: neuropsychology, psychopharmacology, herbal medicines, executive functions, addiction, positive psychology.
Ralph Werner
V.M.D. (University of Pennsylvania), Associate Professor of Biology: physiology, pathology, pathophysiology, anatomy, parasitology, medicine, human health, alternative medicine, biology of aging.
ASSOCIATED FACULTY
Patrick Hossay
Ph.D. (The New School for Social Research), Associate Professor of Political Science: comparative politics, international relations, political science methodology, racism and nationalism.
Peter F. Straub
Ph.D. (University of Delaware), Professor of Biology: plant physiology, plant gene regulation, gene regulation, beach and salt marsh plants.
PROFESSORS EMERITI
Rosalind L. Herlands
Ph.D. (University of California at Irvine), Professor Emerita of Biology: developmental biology, cell biology, embryology, immunology, histology, turtle biology, bioethics, women’s studies.
William M. Miley
Ph.D. (Temple University), Professor Emeritus of Psychology: health psychology, mind/body interactions, abnormal psychology.
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The Richard Stockton College of NJ, PO Box 195, Pomona, NJ 08240 - 609-652-1776 |
