Unani

Domain XI · Traditional medicine & indigenous healing · Arab and Persian lands; India

What it is

Unani is a codified medical system with its own colleges, degrees, pharmacopoeia and regulators. It is not a psychotherapy. Its official descriptions trace it to Hippocrates ("Father of Medicine") and say it was developed further in Arab and Persian lands. The name links to "Ionian" (Greece, Unan),…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Unani has its own framework, set by its regulators and colleges, and the therapist's work with a client who uses it has a separate one.
• India. The National Commission for Indian System of Medicine (NCISM), set up under the NCISM Act 2020, is the statutory regulator for education, professional standards and registration in Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa. Its autonomous boards include a Board of Unani, Siddha and Sowa-Rigpa. Its Board of Ethics and Registration keeps a National Register. The recognised Unani degree is the BUMS. An NCISM…
• Pakistan. The National Council for Tibb was set up in 1965 under section 3 of the Unani, Ayurvedic and Homoeopathic Practitioners (UAH) Act 1965. It regulates education and research and arranges registration of "duly qualified persons". It sits under the Ministry of National Health Services, Regulations and Coordination. The Council's website has a Registered Tabibs List page with downloadable lists for Punjab,…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• Evidence status in brief. An independent overview states that "robust scientific evidence of Unani medicine's benefits is lacking". A systematic review of wet cupping (hijama) for mental health found 9 studies, mostly of poor quality, and concluded that more rigorous trials are needed. No Unani…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Is it a group, retreat or community? How do they respond if someone wants to leave or raises a concern?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• the client feeling they must give credit to one system. It is working when the client has a coherent plan in their own terms.
• being so careful about culture that you hesitate to act on risk. It is working when urgent needs are met without the client giving up care they value.
• the interpreter softening or editing; shame about disclosing in front of a community member. It is working when the client corrects the interpreter or adds detail.
• family pressure to stop medication; blame ("she is ill because she ate wrongly"); the client's own wishes getting lost. It is working when the client's voice is present in family decisions.
• sliding into giving Unani advice; clients who take your framing as an endorsement of a particular remedy; framing that guilt-trips the client ("you got ill because you were unbalanced"). It is…

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.