Georg Seifert
European Society of Integrative Medicine
Professor. Distinguished senior physician specializing in pediatrics
Europe’s first professorship in integrative medicine in pediatrics at Charité – Universitätsnedizin
Berlin, Germany, and serves as a Visiting Professor at the University of São Paulo, Brazil.
georg.seifert@charite.de
When and why were you interested in Integrative Medicine?
I have worked for many years as a pediatrician and in pediatric oncology. I have always been interested in understanding how to promote health and healing and why some patients cope much better with crises than others. Approaches from traditional medical systems offer valuable resources in this regard. In oncology, in particular, empowering patients and enhancing their self-efficacy is crucial. Supporting conventional therapies through nutritional strategies, mental techniques, or artistic approaches can make them more
effective.
What does Integrative Medicine mean to you?
For me, Integrative Medicine is an additional approach that actually enhances conventional therapies. I have always aimed to utilize all available options for our patients. It focuses on the whole person—body, mind, and spirit – emphasizing the therapeutic relationship between the practitioner and the patient and using all appropriate therapies to achieve optimal health and healing. We often forget that we need to treat all levels and dimensions of a person.
What are the main goals of the European Society of Integrative Medicine, and what resources do you have to achieve them? How many members are in your society?
The main goals of the European Society of Integrative Medicine (ESIM) with about 150 members are to promote and integrate scientific knowledge of complementary and alternative medicine into conventional healthcare, to support networking in the field, and to advocate for high-quality, patient-centered care.
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