Page 20 - Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

20 | Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

Therapy Through Perceptions
Our perceptions—sight, hearing, smell, etc.—provide a channel
for accessing cerebral activity and processes. Numerous
modalities have arisen that utilize these pathways to manipulate
mental processes in often simple but powerful ways
Aromatherapy has been used effectively to calm and improve
behavior. Lavender oil, for example, reduces agitation in 60% of
dementia patients (Holmes 2002).
Music therapy takes many forms, from listening to music to
performing it. It has been found helpful for many disorders and
diminishes symptoms of schizophrenia (Talwar 2006) and
depression (Maratos 2008).
Neurofeedback is another treatment that functions through
sight and sound. While numerous forms of the therapy exist,
they generally consist of clients looking at lights or video
screens programmed to shift brain wave patterns. Earphones
may be used with accompanying sound. Among other things, it is
effective for depression, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive
disorder (Hammond 2005) and symptoms of ADHD (Arns 2009).
Light therapy is now an established remedy for Seasonal
Affective Disorder and is a simple option to medication for some.
Massage therapy is a combination of touch and muscle
manipulation that can have a relaxing effect. It has been found
to significantly reduce symptoms of depression (Hou 2010) and
anxiety disorder (Sherman 2010).

The Importance of Hope
Hope is an essential element of recovery. Patients and caregivers
who have hope have less depression and more reason to believe
they will succeed (Cheavens 2006).
A patient who is given one therapy as his only option can lose
all hope if it fails. Many psychiatric patients live lives of quiet
desperation, suffering side effects from meds they dislike but
feeling they have no other choice.