Table Box 9.

 Motivators for greater NHS provision of complementary therapy services: patient empowerment and self‐management

I'd heard about (Buteyko)…I just felt it would be nice to have something that he could do that would be a positive thing…something that he could do that would empower him in a way, which it did seem to do (DC05, mother, CT user)

I'm dependent on medicine, and…I didn't really want to be dependent on it, so I've tried to come off that and I've tried other things…I've cut out milk and wheat, and I've been to see a homeopathic doctor (CA02, adult female, CT user)

I do feel a bit let down by the medical profession…the automatic response is to write a prescription, but I just wish that they would maybe work more closely with say counselling services or people who do relaxation therapy or hypnotherapy or meditation or anything that kind of gives you…the tools to control your life (AA31, adult female, CT user)

I think that often western medicine just treats the symptoms, it doesn't treat the cause and I feel that if only they could offer this it would make other, you'd have less people calling in at the surgery when it had got a lot worse; you'd nip the thing in the bud (AY29, mother, CT user)