Page 14 - Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

14 | Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

1. Overall health is essential to mental health.
2. Recovery includes wellness.” (Bold, italics, and
underline in original.) (Parks 2006)
These two principles, of course, apply to all psychiatric clients,
not just those in the public health system. The concepts of
“overall health” and “wellness” means we must address the
whole person if we are to improve our chances of facilitating the
recovery of mental health.
Currently most psychiatric treatment attempts to readjust the
individual’s neurological biochemistry through pharmacology.
To a lesser extent, psychotherapy is used to address trauma and
life situations. While these tools have a level of effectiveness and
may be sufficient for some, they collectively fall short of
addressing “overall health.”
This has not escaped the public’s notice. Seeking more effective
healthcare for psychiatric and other medical issues, they have
increasingly turned to other forms of treatment—commonly
referred to as complementary and alternative medicine or CAM.
In 2002, 36% of adult Americans used some form of CAM. If
prayer was included, that number swelled to 62% (Barnes 2004).
By 2007 CAM use had increased 14% (Su 2011).
In psychiatry, 54% of women with depression seek relief
through CAM therapies. Reasons given are a preference for a
“natural approach,” wanting treatments that are congruent with
their own beliefs and values, and experiencing unpleasant side
effects or poor results from orthodox treatment (Wu 2007).
Among psychiatric patients in general, 63% use some CAM
modality (Elkins 2005).
The past decade has also seen a burgeoning of articles in the
psychiatric literature on the use of such CAM treatments as
nutrients (e.g., fatty acids, folate, vitamin D), yoga, light therapy,
acupuncture, and exercise. A cursory search of the same journals
finds that CAM treatments have been discussed for a range of
disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia,
ADHD, dementia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).