The daughter of two medical doctors, Gladys Taylor McGarey was born in India in 1920. As a child she traveled through the Indian outback on medical safaris with her parents. In 1935 she came to the United States to attend college and medical school. She was internationally recognized as the Mother of Holistic Medicine, having led the field since the 1940s.  Dr. Gladys, as she was affectionately known, was board certified in Holistic and Integrated Medicine and had a family practice for more than sixty years. She was the co-founder of the American Holistic Medical Association, as well as the co-founder of the Academy of Parapsychology and Medicine.

 

After graduation from medical school, she interned at Deaconess Hospital, at that time the only woman to do so, and soon discovered that the senior staff felt it was their responsibility to make her life miserable  so she would give up medicine. She said of this experience, “They didn’t understand that medicine was something I had to do. I turned to the advice my father used to give me, ‘Never give up.’ It became my mantra. I try to instill this drive to continue to every female health provider I meet. The drive to be a trailblazer. If you see an injustice, fight for it, research it, prove the efficacy of your beliefs.”

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Once she began practicing medicine, Dr. Gladys felt the emphasis on disease and pharmaceutical intervention was wrong. In their zeal to combat infection and disease, doctors often overlooked the most important aspect of the patient—how they heal. She believed doctors should focus on the whole person with treatment that emphasized prevention and wellness through life-style changes. For her, holistic medicine meant the art and science of healing that addresses care of the whole person, recognizing the interconnection of all aspects – body, mind, emotions, spirit – and the centrality of compassionate care in the healing relationship.

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While raising six children, she continued her medical practice, her research, and the advancement of birthing practices. She promoted natural childbirth and pioneered efforts to allow fathers in the delivery room during the birth of their children. She spoke, taught, and wrote books on the subject. She provided natural birthing for celebrities, dignitaries, and rural women around the world. At the age of 84 she traveled to Afghanistan to teach rural women safer birthing practices, resulting in a 47% decrease in infant mortality rates in the area.

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In 1978 she co-founded the American Holistic Medical Association with the goal of uniting licensed physicians who practiced holistic medicine and helping to transform conventional healthcare into a more holistic model. She created a safe harbor for the early physician pioneers and students of integrative and holistic medicine.

 

She was the first medical doctor to utilize acupuncture in the U.S. and trained other physicians how to use it. She championed efforts nationally for the licensing of acupuncture to provide a high standard of care. She founded the Gladys Taylor McGarey Foundation to bridge the gap between holistic and traditional medicine and has helped expand the knowledge and application of holistic principles through scientific research and education.

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Her humanitarian efforts in the health field extended world-wide. She defined her mission as “first listening carefully to the wisdom and healing traditions of rural village people, then offering education, training, and treatment that support and augment their practices.” She visited orphanages in India, worked with women in Tibet and many other countries, served as President of the Arizona Board of Homeopathic Medical Examiners, and as President of the American Holistic Medical Association.

 

Dr. Gladys received numerous honors and awards including: the Humanities Award for Outstanding Service to Mankind, presented by the National Committee for the Advancement of Parapsychology and Medicine; the David Stackhouse award for pioneering excellence in Homeopathy; the YWCA “Tribute to Women” award in the healer category; one of the Top Ten Arizona Women of 1993; the 2001 Lifetime Distinguished Service Award from Muskingum College in Ohio; the Native American Elder Award from the Phoenix Area Indian Health Services; and in 2003 was honored by the American Holistic Medical Association as a Pioneer of Holistic Medicine.