The widespread use of nonconventional treatments, or complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and the increasing evidence supporting their therapeutic benefits call for a concerted scientific effort to integrate treatments that work into mainstream medicines. Answering that call is the groundbreaking Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Mental Health Care, a concise, practical reference that reviews the many CAM approaches used in North America and Europe to treat—or self-treat—mental health problems, and the history and rationale for a variety of CAM treatments, including the risks and benefits of their integration into mainstream mental health care. Two dozen contributors with both conventional and nonconventional expertise present current information about safe, effective mental health treatments—including herbals and other natural products, stress management, homeopathy, Ayurveda, and traditional Chinese medicine—that have not yet been fully examined or endorsed by the institutions of conventional biomedicine. This book: * Covers background issues, including conceptual and historical foundations, emerging ideas and trends, safety issues, potential drug interactions and adverse effects, and medical-legal issues pertaining to use of nonconventional treatments in mental health care. * Reviews the evidence and offers practical clinical guidelines for the most widely used nonconventional treatments. Twelve chapters cover specific nonconventional modalities or alternative professional systems of medicine currently used to treat mental illness, addressing historical uses of the specified modality, significant recent research findings, unresolved safety issues, and evidence supporting use of the specified approach in common psychiatric disorders, from major depressive and bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and generalized anxiety disorder to obsessive-compulsive disorder, dementia, and sleep and substance abuse disorders. Practical clinical applications of complementary and alternative approaches are discussed throughout the book. * Closes with three appendixes and a subject and author index. Appendix A ranks evidence for the various treatment modalities by major psychiatric disorder and is cross-referenced with the material in Part II. Appendix B lists important Web sites, textbooks, professional associations, and other resources. Appendix C contains a glossary of key terms used in complementary and alternative medicine. Written for both conventionally and nonconventionally trained mental health care professionals, Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Mental Health Care provides both an ideal reference for clinicians whose patients inquire about the uses of many CAM therapies and a critical, balanced review of the nonconventional modalities most widely used in Western countries to treat mental or emotional problems. --- from the publisher Contents Foreword. Introduction. Part I: Background Issues. Complementary, alternative, and integrative treatments in mental health care: basic concepts and significant trends. Legal, regulatory, and ethical issues. Patient safety. Integrative approaches. Part II: Review of the Evidence and Clinical Guidelines. Nonconventional biological treatments. Western herbal medicines. Nutritional supplements. Omega-3 essential fatty acids. Chinese medical treatments. Homeopathy. Ayurvedic treatments. Lifestyle and women's issues. Nutrition. Physical activity and exercise. Integrative medicine treatments for depression in women. Spirituality, mindfulness, and mind-body practices. Mindfulness training and meditation. Religious beliefs, spirituality, and intention. Yoga. Qigong. Appendices. Index. Reviews “This is a comprehensive textbook that will be useful to clinicians in primary care and mental health practice. Drs. Lake and Spiegel's integrative approach clarifies how complementary and alternative practices and substances can be incorporated into ‘traditional’ patient care. The book contains numerous chapters that provide great depth and will challenge clinicians to reformulate their approach to treatment. I found the chapters on Nutrition, Exercise, and Mindfulness particularly engaging, thought provoking, and informative.”—Philip R. Muskin, M.D., Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons; Chief of Consultation-Liaison Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center; Chair of the American Psychiatric Association Council on Psychosomatic Medicine About the Authors James H. Lake, M.D., has a private practice in Monterey, California, where he combines psychotherapy and evidence-based Western and complementary treatments for the spectrum of psychiatric disorders. Dr. Lake chairs the American Psychiatric Association's Caucus on Complementary, Alternative, and Integrative Approaches in Mental Health Care. David Spiegel, M.D., is Willson Professor and Associate Chair of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Medical Director of the Center for Integrative Medicine at Stanford University Medical Center, Palo Alto, California. |