Page 17 - Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

Promoting Wellness in Mental Health: The CAM Approach in Psychiatry | 17

triggering mental disorders. A subset of toxic exposure would
include unwanted effects of medication. Many drugs,
particularly in combination, produce psychiatric symptoms.
Pain can sometimes be a hidden contributor to mental
suffering. Dental issues, back pain, an improperly healed
surgery, a hidden fracture, foot anomalies—any kind of pain-
producing ailment—may go unnoticed by the physician, but
shouldn’t. Also, many patients may fail to report the pain due to
their inability to express themselves or because they have
become accustomed to it.
Perceptual issues, particularly hearing and vision impairment,
can often go overlooked by doctor and client, yet they can result
in psychiatric sequelae such as hallucinations, anxiety,
depression, and confusion.
In addition to treating physical disorders, clinicians can use the
body as a channel for therapeutic intervention. A number of
physical treatments have been found to improve mental health.
Numerous nutrient therapies are efficacious for a panoply of
psychiatric disorders. Some treatments, such as omega-3 fatty
acids, have become so commonplace that they are now
considered best practice in mainstream medicine.
Herbal treatments have a role in psychiatric medicine and a
number of them have been reported safe and effective in the
literature.
Exercise has been shown to be very effective as a mood elevator
and lack of exercise can impair the quality of life for any
psychiatric patient as well as retard recovery.
A host of other CAM physical approaches can change mental
and emotional aspect including chiropractic, yoga, acupuncture,
acupressure, breathing exercises, dance therapy, and balance
therapy.

Environmental Influences
In the early 1900s, when psychoanalysis was the dominant force
in psychiatry, Sigmund Freud wrote, “If a man has been his