This study employed a phenomenological perspective that explored, through thematic analysis, the structure of the lived experience of twenty-four women healers in the state of Maine. This perspective combined a focus on the overall meaning of the healing practices being investigated with an emphasis on selected passages in the interviews that illustrated important themes of complementary energetic practices. Complementary practices refer to the wide range of modalities that fall outside the established fields of the medical and mental health professions. Specific practices explored in this study were: acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, emotional cleansing work, direct energy work, homeopathy, osteopathic medicine, polarity therapy, Qigong, Reiki, therapeutic touch, and vibrational medicine. Based on their state-wide reputation, two women healers were selected to represent each of the eleven modalities covered in this study to permit both within-group as well as between-group comparisons. Two traditional medical doctors were also added as a backdrop to provide a sharper focus and a means of identifying differences and similarities between complementary and conventional medical practices. "Energetic" or "mind/body" are terms used to describe an emergent energetic model of healing that encompasses in an interdependent mode physical, psychological, spiritual, social, and cultural perspectives. This energetic model is not new. It is traced to healing practices in ancient cultures like Greece, Egypt, India, and China, and is found in all periods of recorded history. In this study, the diverse practices represented in the energetic model share a view of the client as a total reality: body, mind, spirit. The four approaches employed by this energetic model--wellness, prevention, empowerment, and early intervention--are shown to coincide with the central foci of the field of counselor education. As the emphasis in counseling and in other health care practices shifts toward p