Whole Health at VA Maine
Whole health puts you at the center of care, rather than your illnesses or conditions. We work with you to develop a personalized health plan based on your values, needs, and goals.
The Components of the Proactive Health and Well-Being model lays out eight key areas of self-care, illustrating how they fit in with other critical elements of your personal health plan. Improving one area can benefit all other aspects of your life — including your overall physical, mental, and spiritual health and well-being.
Whole Health is an approach to health care that empowers and equips Veterans to take charge of their health and well-being and to live their life to the fullest.
Traditionally, providers have focused on what's the matter with patients, zeroing in on their diseases and ailments. We are working to shift this focus by instead starting a conversation about what matters most to Veterans. We want to put the Veteran — rather than the disease — at the center of their health and health care.
The practice of Whole Health:
- Places each Veteran at the center of his or her own health care
- Shifts the focus of care toward health and well-being
- Utilizes Mindful Awareness to promote self-care and healing
- Emphasizes the importance of relationships and partnerships
- Incorporates a range of conventional and complementary approaches