What Is Holistic Care in Nursing?
Published on: September 25, 2025
Holistic care in nursing means treating the whole person — not just a diagnosis — by weaving physical, emotional, social, cultural and spiritual needs into every plan of care. This is the foundation of holistic nursing, where nurses look beyond symptoms to lifestyle, stress, nutrition, beliefs and support systems to deliver truly comprehensive patient care. As a holistic nurse, you advocate for comfort, connection and sustainable healing across settings, from hospitals to home and community health.
Let’s explore what that looks like in day-to-day practice and the growing careers in holistic nursing, plus how a nursing program can prepare you to integrate whole-person care into your professional toolkit.
What Is Holistic Nursing?
Holistic nursing centers the whole person — body, mind, spirit, culture and environment — so every plan of care supports healing and symptom relief. In practice, holistic care in nursing blends evidence-based treatments with alternative health practices like breathwork, guided imagery or mindfulness when appropriate, always grounded in safety and patient preference. The goal of holistic patient care is connection and continuity: educating patients, involving families and emphasizing wellness and prevention alongside clinical interventions. A holistic approach in nursing also includes the nurse’s self-awareness and therapeutic presence, so the holistic nurse can advocate for comfort, dignity and culturally respectful care across settings.
Why Holistic Nursing Is Growing in Demand
Several forces are driving interest and careers in holistic nursing. Patient use of complementary approaches has risen sharply; the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) reports that adults using at least one of seven complementary health approaches grew from 19.2% (2002) to 36.7% (2022), with yoga and meditation seeing notable gains. This signals demand for clinicians skilled in integrating safe options into care plans.
Health systems and policy leaders are also prioritizing “whole-person” and patient-centered care, which aligns directly with holistic practice. At the same time, healthcare employment is expanding due to aging populations and chronic disease. Employment of registered nurses (RNs) is projected to grow 5% from 2024 to 2034, and healthcare/social assistance is the fastest-growing sector, thus creating more opportunities where holistic skills add value.
Difference Between Traditional and Holistic Nursing
Traditional models often prioritize diagnosis and treatment workflows, whereas holistic nursing explicitly “has healing the whole person as its goal,” integrating relational care, cultural context and, when appropriate, evidence-informed complementary methods within scope. Holistic practice is guided by established standards that emphasize a therapeutic nurse–patient relationship, communication and the nurse’s own self-care, while still using conventional interventions. In short, traditional care focuses on the condition; holistic practice centers the person and aligns interventions with patient values.
The Role of Holistic Nursing in Patient Care
In holistic nursing, the nurse partners with patients and their families to understand physical symptoms alongside emotional, social, cultural and spiritual needs, then builds care plans that support whole-person healing. In day-to-day practice, that means blending conventional treatments with appropriate alternative health practices while emphasizing education, connection, wellness and prevention. A holistic approach in nursing also relies on therapeutic presence and clear, patient-centered communication to strengthen trust and engagement. These elements are integral to high-quality holistic patient care and are reflected in established professional standards for holistic practice.
Benefits for Patients
When nurses center communication and partnership, patients report higher satisfaction and trust. Holistic patient care that includes mind–body options (such as mindfulness) can help patients manage anxiety, stress and depressive symptoms alongside physical recovery. And because holistic care in nursing prioritizes lifestyle coaching and self-management, it naturally supports long-term wellness and prevention, where counseling on healthy diet and physical activity has demonstrated benefits for cardiometabolic risk.
Common Holistic Practices Used in Care
Nurses may use the following modalities selectively and within scope, prioritizing safety, evidence and patient preference:
- Mindfulness and stress-reduction techniques
- Massage therapy or touch therapy
- Guided imagery and meditation
- Nutrition and lifestyle counseling
- Aromatherapy or essential oils
- Energy-healing practices like Reiki (used by some; evidence is mixed and quality varies)
How to Become a Holistic Nurse
Becoming a holistic nurse starts with earning RN licensure, then layering on specialty education that equips you to deliver holistic patient care grounded in evidence, relationship and whole-person healing. Many nurses deepen their skills in holistic nursing through continuing education and clinical experience that integrate a holistic approach in nursing with safe, evidence-informed alternative health practices. From there, nationally accredited board certifications validate your expertise and can open doors to advanced roles and careers in holistic nursing across hospitals, clinics, community health and private practice.
Education Requirements
As the baseline for practicing holistic care in nursing in any setting, plan on:
- Completing an accredited associate degree in nursing (ADN) or Bachelor of Science in Nursing (BSN) program
- Passing the NCLEX-RN
- Obtaining a state RN license
After licensure, build competencies in holistic nursing through coursework in communication, cultural humility, mind–body modalities and lifestyle counseling, aligning with the Holistic Nursing Scope & Standards. Many nurses also pursue continuing education in topics such as mindfulness-based stress reduction, integrative symptom management, and wellness and prevention to strengthen day-to-day practice.
Holistic Nursing Certification
Certification validates your ability to deliver a consistent, holistic approach in nursing and can strengthen advancement prospects in careers in holistic nursing across acute, community and integrative settings. Board certification is offered by the American Holistic Nurses Credentialing Corporation (AHNCC) at multiple levels — HN-BC, HNB-BC, AHN-BC and APHN-BC — to recognize progressive expertise in holistic nursing.
Core eligibility generally includes:
- A current, unrestricted RN (or APRN for APHN-BC)
- 2,000 hours (or one year full-time) of holistic nursing practice within the past five years
- 48 hours of continuing education in holistic nursing within two years of applying, with degree level matching the exam tier
Skills and Qualities Needed
Successful holistic nurses cultivate therapeutic presence, reflective self-care and strong communication to build trust and support healing alongside medical treatment. They apply evidence and clinical judgment when integrating alternative health practices (e.g., guided imagery, breathwork) within scope and patient preference, and they coach patients toward wellness and prevention through nutrition, sleep, movement and stress-management counseling. Additionally, they collaborate across disciplines and practice with cultural humility — hallmarks of holistic nursing scope and standards that define high-quality holistic patient care.
Career Opportunities in Holistic Nursing
Careers in holistic nursing span bedside, community and leadership roles, giving you flexibility to work where whole-person care makes the biggest impact. For instance, in hospitals and outpatient clinics, a holistic nurse may lead integrative consults, support symptom management in oncology or palliative care and reinforce wellness and prevention during discharge teaching.
In primary care and community settings, nurses coach lifestyle change, run stress-reduction groups and guide chronic condition self-management using an evidence-informed holistic approach in nursing.
Other areas that may rely on nurses who can pair conventional care with safe, patient-preferred alternative health practices to enhance comfort and healing include:
- Hospice
- Rehabilitation
- School health
- Behavioral health
- Corporate wellness programs
Beyond direct holistic patient care, opportunities include:
- Case management
- Patient-experience leadership
- Quality improvement
- Education
- Advanced practice roles that spread holistic care across entire organizations
- Entrepreneurship through private coaching and group programs
College-level nursing programs can help you build the clinical judgment, communication skills and whole-person perspective needed to thrive across these pathways.
Bring Whole-Person Care to More Patients — Advance Your Practice With Husson
From the essentials of holistic care in nursing to day-to-day methods of holistic nursing, we explored how evidence-based treatment can thoughtfully include alternative health practices, strengthen holistic patient care and support long-term wellness, prevention and healing. We also outlined what a holistic nurse needs — education, certification and core skills — along with expanding careers in holistic nursing across clinical and community settings.
If you are looking to put into action a holistic approach in nursing in every plan of care, Husson University can help you level up. Explore our online Master of Science in Nursing program specializations to gain the leadership, clinical judgment and tools that move patients and your career forward.
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