CCEA AS-Level Health and Social Care 0003
Promoting Quality Care
Communication in Health, Social Care and Early Years Settings
Health and Well-Being
Safeguarding Children
Adult Service Users
Holistic Therapies
Understanding the Physiology of Health and Illness
Holistic Therapies
- 11 subtopics
- 33 things to know
- AS 6
What Holistic Therapies covers
Holistic Therapies is examined in Unit AS 6, Holistic Therapies — compulsory for the Double Award. It covers the holistic approach and safe practice, acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbalism, reflexology, Pilates and kinesiology, medical approaches: medication, surgery and physiotherapy, managing asthma, high blood pressure and arthritis, managing insomnia, migraine, back pain, depression and irritable bowel syndrome, comparing holistic therapies and medical treatments and current trends, evidence and holistic therapies in care settings.
Where it is assessed
AS 6
Holistic Therapies — an internally assessed report.
Check the CCEA specification ↗The 11 subtopics
Each one has its own page. CCEA AS Health and Social Care students sit this topic in the first year.
- The holistic approach and safe practiceHolistic therapy, difference between a complementary therapy and an alternative therapy and integrated care in this context.Open →
- AcupunctureQi in traditional Chinese medicine, yin and yang in traditional Chinese medicine and three problems for which people commonly seek acupuncture.Open →
- AromatherapyEssential oil, carrier oil and patch test.Open →
- HerbalismTwo modern medicines that originated in plants, western herbal medicine and herb known to interact with prescribed medicines.Open →
- ReflexologyZones used in reflexology, what happens in a typical reflexology session and three cautions or contraindications for reflexology.Open →
- Pilates and kinesiologyThree principles of Pilates, two problems for which Pilates is commonly recommended and difference between mat Pilates and equipment-based Pilates.Open →
- Medical approaches: medication, surgery and physiotherapyMedical approach to treating a condition, two side effects commonly reported with medication and surgery used for arthritis.Open →
- Managing asthma, high blood pressure and arthritisHow each condition is managed medically, which holistic therapies are used alongside that treatment and on what argument, the evidence for each, and why prescribed medication is never given up in favour of a therapy.Open →
- Managing insomnia, migraine, back pain, depression and irritable bowel syndromeThree causes of insomnia, aura in migraine and most common form of back pain.Open →
- Comparing holistic therapies and medical treatmentsPlacebo effect and strongest argument against relying on a holistic therapy alone.Open →
- Current trends, evidence and holistic therapies in care settingsTrend in the use of holistic therapies, three trends reported in the use of holistic therapies and primary source in evaluating a therapy.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
How does a complementary therapy differ from an alternative one, what is integrated care, and what is a contraindication?
Why does a therapist need to know which of a client's inhalers is the reliever?
What is acupuncture?
What is aromatherapy?
What is herbalism?
What is reflexology?
On what basis are holistic therapies offered alongside conventional treatment for asthma?
What is insomnia?
On which four criteria is a comparison of a holistic therapy with a medical treatment usually made?
What is meant by a trend in the use of holistic therapies?
What does holistic mean in the context of health?
Where and when did acupuncture originate?
What is an essential oil?
How old is the practice of herbal medicine?
What belief underlies reflexology?
What is Pilates?
What is meant by a medical approach to treating a condition?
Name three common triggers for asthma.
Name three causes of insomnia.
How does the cost of medical treatment usually compare with that of a holistic therapy?
Name three trends reported in the use of holistic therapies.
What is a holistic therapy?
What is qi in traditional Chinese medicine?
How are most essential oils extracted?
Name two modern medicines that originated in plants.
What are the zones used in reflexology?
Name three principles of Pilates.
Give three routes by which medication can be given.
How is asthma managed medically?
Why are sleeping tablets prescribed only for short periods?
Why can a holistic therapy prove expensive over a course of treatment?
Why has interest in holistic therapies grown in recent decades?
Take Holistic Therapies further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Primary source vs Secondary source
Primary source: information the researcher gathers at first hand from people. Secondary source: material somebody else has already produced.
Placebo effect vs Treatment effect
Placebo effect: the improvement produced by a person's expectation of getting better. Treatment effect: the improvement produced by what was actually done.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What does holistic mean in the context of health?
Model answer
A holistic approach treats the whole person — body, mind, emotions and social circumstances — rather than the symptom alone.
- 2
What is a holistic therapy?
Model answer
A holistic therapy is a treatment given to restore balance in the whole person, and generally sits outside conventional medicine.
- 3
What is the difference between a complementary therapy and an alternative therapy?
Model answer
A complementary therapy is used alongside conventional medical treatment, while an alternative therapy is used in place of it.
- 4
Why do practitioners warn against using a therapy as an alternative to medical treatment?
Model answer
Replacing medical treatment with a therapy of unproven benefit risks leaving a treatable condition untreated while it worsens.
- 5
What is meant by integrated care in this context?
Model answer
Integrated care is the deliberate combining of conventional medical treatment with complementary therapies inside one plan of care.
- 6
Name three principles common to holistic therapies.
Model answer
Holistic therapies commonly hold that the body can heal itself, that the whole person must be treated, and that practitioner and client work in partnership.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Holistic Therapies revision questions
- Is Holistic Therapies examined at AS in CCEA Health and Social Care?
- Yes. It sits in AS 6, which you take in the first year, so it is on the AS paper as well as counting towards the full A level.
- What does Holistic Therapies cover in CCEA AS-Level Health and Social Care?
- 11 subtopics: the holistic approach and safe practice, acupuncture, aromatherapy, herbalism, reflexology, pilates and kinesiology, medical approaches: medication, surgery and physiotherapy, managing asthma, high blood pressure and arthritis, managing insomnia, migraine, back pain, depression and irritable bowel syndrome, comparing holistic therapies and medical treatments and current trends, evidence and holistic therapies in care settings. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Holistic Therapies organised?
- By the CCEA 0003 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Holistic Therapies, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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