This textbook on palliative social work is a companion volume to the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Medicine and the Oxford Textbook of Palliative Nursing. To that end, this chapter will accomplish the following:

♦ Use of integrative medicine and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has increased.

♦ Seventy-four percent of U.S. health care consumers use CAM already (National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine-NCCAM, 2002).

♦ Integrative medicine and CAM are currently offered in most health care settings, studied and published in major peer-reviewed journals, taught in medical settings, and are responsible for an increased expenditure of health care dollars.

♦ Integrative medicine, CAM, social work, and palliative care share similar values and approaches toward care.