Integrative Health
At CHOC, now Rady Children’s Health Orange County, we believe in whole-child health — body, mind, and spirit — through pediatric integrative medicine to treat a multitude of conditions. Unlike most hospitals, CHOC makes integrative care for children part of our standard treatment. Every CHOC doctor can prescribe safe, evidence-based integrative therapies (like acupuncture or massage) alongside regular medical care. In fact, CHOC is the only children’s hospital in our region to offer pediatric-focused integrative health services, and we’ve done so since 2002. Our licensed experts (including acupuncturists, pediatric psychologists, child life specialists and others) work closely with your child’s medical team to ease pain, reduce anxiety, improve sleep, and create the best environment for healing. Integrative health services are available for both hospital inpatients and outpatients (by physician referral), ensuring pediatric holistic care is accessible to any child who might benefit.
What We Treat
Our integrative health services can help children facing many conditions or uncomfortable symptoms. Treatments are individually tailored to each child’s needs and can be used for:
- Pain and discomfort: Whether due to illness, injury, surgery, or chronic conditions, integrative therapies help manage pediatric pain and promote comfort.
- Stress, anxiety, and fear: Techniques like guided imagery and aromatherapy calm the mind, helping kids cope with hospital stays, medical procedures, or anxiety disorders.
- Nausea and digestive upset: Therapies such as acupuncture and acupressure can relieve nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite (for example, during cancer treatment or after surgery).
- Headaches and migraines: Mind-body practices (like relaxation exercises and biofeedback) teach children ways to lessen headaches and tension.
- Insomnia and fatigue: Gentle methods including massage or meditation improve sleep quality and reduce fatigue, helping kids regain energy.
- Other symptoms of illness or treatment: From nausea to anxiety, our team addresses symptoms causing discomfort in your child or family. Ask your doctor if integrative health might help your child feel better during their care journey.
If your child has a specific condition, such as cancer or a gastrointestinal disorder, integrative therapies can be added to support their standard treatment. Integrative health does not replace primary treatments – it complements them to improve your child’s overall well-being.
CHOC offers a wide range of pediatric integrative health services to help children heal and cope. These proven therapies are delivered by trained specialists and are safe for kids of all ages. Our integrative health treatments include:
Our integrative health team at CHOC is a compassionate, multidisciplinary group dedicated to your child’s well-being. Dr. Ruth McCarty, our Clinical Director of Chinese Medicine and Acupuncture, helped establish CHOC’s Integrative Medicine Program in 2002. With over 15 years of experience in treating children, she has led the way in bringing therapies like acupuncture, aromatherapy, and massage to thousands of patients.
Under Dr. McCarty’s leadership, our pediatric integrative health team includes licensed acupuncturists, massage and Reiki therapists, child life specialists, music and art therapists, pediatric psychologists, and other experts. They collaborate with your child’s doctors and nurses every day. For example, if a patient is anxious or in pain after surgery, an integrative therapist will join the care team meeting to recommend a soothing treatment (like acupuncture or guided imagery) to help. This close teamwork ensures each child’s medical treatment and holistic therapies work together for the best results.
Our practitioners are part of your child’s care team from the moment you opt into integrative services. They will communicate with you and your child’s specialists, adjust therapies as your child’s condition changes, and focus on improving your child’s quality of life at every step.
While Dr. McCarty specializes in traditional Chinese medicine, our team members come from various backgrounds all devoted to enhancing pediatric care. Together, we aim to treat not just the illness, but the whole child.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is pediatric integrative health?
Integrative health (also called integrative medicine) in pediatrics means combining conventional medical treatments with safe, evidence-based complementary therapies. At CHOC, this approach allows us to care for your child as a whole – not only treating the disease or injury, but also helping with pain, stress, and other aspects of healing. For example, a child with cancer might receive chemotherapy and acupuncture/acupressure to ease nausea, or a child with chronic pain might use both medicine and guided imagery to cope. Integrative health is always used alongside standard medical care, not as a substitute. Our goal is to boost your child’s comfort, resilience, and overall wellness during treatment.
Are these integrative therapies safe for children?
Yes. All integrative therapies at CHOC are evidence-based and provided by licensed professionals. We use techniques that have been studied in children and proven to help (for instance, research shows acupuncture can safely reduce pain and chemotherapy-related nausea in kids). Our team members are specially trained in pediatrics and adjust each therapy to a child’s size, age, and needs. Treatments like acupuncture use child-friendly methods – the needles are extremely thin and gentle (many kids don’t even feel them). Massage and aromatherapy are done with safe pressure and kid-appropriate scents. We always get your doctor’s approval before starting any integrative therapy, and we monitor your child’s response closely. Safety is our top priority, so you can feel confident that these therapies will not harm your child and often make them feel much better.
How do I get my child access to Integrative Health services?
Talk to your child’s CHOC doctor or nurse about integrative health. Any physician at CHOC can request integrative services for your child during a hospital stay. For outpatient care, ask your doctor if a referral to CHOC’s Integrative Health Program is recommended for your child.
Thank You to the Orange County Integrative Health Initiative
CHOC is proud to be selected as a partner with the Orange County Integrative Health Initiative, which is committed to making integrative health services available to Orange County residents, including kids. As the only pediatric-dedicated partner, the CHOC Primary Care Clinic will be able to offer mind-body therapies, nutrition, and preventative health services and more to our patients, in addition to these services currently available in the hospital. The Orange County Integrative Health Initiative is a partnership between the Health Funders Partnership of Orange County, the UC Irvine School of Medicine, the Samueli Foundation, the Susan Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine (SSCIM) and the Coalition of Orange County Community Health Centers. Learn more about the Orange County Integrative Health Initiative.
Explore More
Support Our Mission
Integrative health services at CHOC are entirely supported by philanthropy. For more information about supporting our program so that patients may continue to receive these important services, please contact the CHOC Foundation at 714-509-8690 or make a donation today.