Whole-person
adj.kind, thoughtfulprofessional
What it means
Considering someone's physical, emotional, and social wellbeing together.
Reach for it when describing care or development that considers a person's interconnected needs and context
The clinic adopted a whole-person approach to long-term recovery.
Choose between these
6- everyday
coverage is broad and thorough
not when Comprehensive work can remain provider-centered.
- warm
design begins with people's actual needs
not when Human-centered is broad and often used for products.
- professional
interacting dimensions are considered together
not when Holistic can become vague or imply alternative medicine.
- professional
services connect rather than operate in isolation
not when Integration describes systems more than lived experience.
- professional
the individual's goals and choices guide care
not when Person-centered practice can still address a narrow domain.
- formal
biopsychosocial
biological, psychological, and social factors are explicitly assessed
not when The technical model may omit spiritual or cultural priorities.
Said against
3- fragmented
- impersonal
- symptom-only
It naturally appears in
3- whole-person care
Whole-person care addressed transport, pain, housing, and personal goals.
- whole-person approach
A whole-person approach made the training plan fit her caregiving schedule.
- whole-person development
Whole-person development valued curiosity, health, relationships, and skill.
Where this comes from
Whole-person is not a headword in the dictionaries below. The sense was checked against their entries for whole, and the definition and example here are written for Whole-person itself.
- Wiktionary, the entry for whole, English adjective whole, complete or entire, used in the compound whole-person opens in a new tab · retrieved 2026-07-26
The definition and the example on this page are written here. The dictionaries above ground which meaning is being described, not the wording.