A clearly written book that provides an excellent introduction to alternative therapies. Systematized health care practices, botanical healing, manual healing methods, mind-body techniques, spiritual therapies, and more. For nurses and practitioners in allied health fields who seek to expand their practice to offer wider choices to consumers of health care.

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Integration of complementary and alternative medicine therapies (CAM) with conventional medicine is occurring in hospitals and physicians offices, health maintenance organizations (HMOs) are covering CAM therapies, insurance coverage for CAM is increasing, and integrative medicine centers and clinics are being established, many with close ties to medical schools and teaching hospitals. In determining what care to provide, the goal should be comprehensive care that uses the best scientific evidence available regarding benefits and harm, encourages a focus on healing, recognizes the importance of compassion and caring, emphasizes the centrality of relationship-based care, encourages patients to share in decision making about therapeutic options, and promotes choices in care that can include complementary therapies where appropriate. Numerous approaches to delivering integrative medicine have evolved. Complementary and Alternative Medicine in the United States identifies an urgent need for health systems research that focuses on identifying the elements of these models, the outcomes of care delivered in these models, and whether these models are cost-effective when compared to conventional practice settings. It outlines areas of research in convention and CAM therapies, ways of integrating these therapies, development of curriculum that provides further education to health professionals, and an amendment of the Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act to improve quality, accurate labeling, research into use of supplements, incentives for privately funded research into their efficacy, and consumer protection against all potential hazards.

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.

Scott Shannon is an MD, president elect of the American Holistic Medical Association, and considered a national expert on holistic psychiatry. In this book he brings together a comprehensive overview of CAM treatments, with information on their effectiveness and safety for specific patient populations and for use in treating specific disorders. Modalities covered include Acupuncture, Nutritional Medicine, Herbal Medicine, Meditation, Biofeedback, Aromatherapy and others. Coverage also includes chapters on the best CAM modalities for treatment of Anxiety and PTSD, Depression, ADD, and Addictions. Each chapter will be in a similar template, beginning with a description of the treatment, its safety, compatibility with conventional treatments and/or contrindications, scientific documentation of its efficacy, discussion of which disorders it is best used for, and references. Most comprehensive overview of rapidly expanding field Includes chapters by 24 leading psychiatric/psychological experts in these fields Documents and rates the research base in each area Offers practical clinical approaches for four common mental health concerns—depression, anxiety, ADHD, and addictions Areas not yet covered in professional training Practices commonly employed by the public (40-50% of the American public use complementary or alternative approaches) No previous book of this nature or scope

Focusing on emerging therapies and those best supported by clinical trials and scientific evidence, Fundamentals of Complementary and Alternative Medicine describes some of the most prevalent and the fastest-growing CAM therapies in use today. Prominent author Dr. Marc Micozzi provides a complete overview of CAM, creating a solid foundation and context for therapies in current practice. Coverage of systems and therapies includes mind, body, and spirit; traditional Western healing; and traditional ethnomedical systems from around the world. Discussions include homeopathy, massage and manual therapies, chiropractic, a revised chapter on osteopathy, herbal medicine, aromatherapy, naturopathic medicine, and nutrition and hydration. With its wide range of topics, this is the ideal CAM reference for both students and practitioners! An evidence-based approach focuses on treatments best supported by clinical trials and scientific evidence. Coverage of CAM therapies and systems includes those most commonly encountered or growing in popularity, so you carefully evaluate each treatment. Global coverage includes discussions of traditional healing arts from Europe, Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Longevity in the market makes this a classic, trusted text. Expert contributors include well-known writers such as Kevin Ergil, Patch Adams, Joseph Pizzorno, Victor Sierpina, and Marc Micozzi himself. Suggested readings and references in each chapter list the best resources for further research and study. New, expanded organization covers the foundations of CAM, traditional Western healing, and traditional ethnomedical systems from Asia, Africa, and the Americas, putting CAM in perspective and making it easier to understand CAM origins and contexts. NEW content includes legal and operational issues in integrative medicine, creative and expressive arts therapies, ecological pharmacology, hydration, mind-body thought and practice in America, osteopathy, reflexology, South American healing, traditional medicines of India, and Unani medicine. Revised and updated chapters include aromatherapy, classical acupuncture, energy medicine, biophysical devices (electricity, light, and magnetism), massage and touch therapies, traditional osteopathy, reflexology, vitalism, and yoga. New research studies explain how and why CAM therapies work, and also demonstrate that they do work, in areas such as acupuncture, energy healing, and mind-body therapies. Expanded content on basic sciences includes biophysics, ecology, ethnomedicine, neurobiology, and pschoneuroimmunology, providing the scientific background needed to learn and practice CAM and integrative medicine. Expanded coverage of nutrition and hydration includes practical information on Vitamin D and healthy hydration with fluid and electrolytes.

Highly researched and referenced, Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Health Professionals: A Holistic Approach to Consumer Health educates students about the many complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) modalities that are available, in addition to the more traditional methods that exist. Early chapters provide an overview of both traditional and alternative medicine, scientific method and steps in scientific research, and look at the cost of health care in the U.S. Later chapters introduce students to integrative medicine and provide a thorough overview of CAM practices employed today. Topics that are covered include acupuncture, meditation, herbals and aromatherapy. By reading this text, students will become astute at distinguishing among those traditional and CAM health practices that are helpful, those that have been scientifically tested, and those that may offer no benefit. Case studies throughout the text give students an opportunity to apply material and ideas to real life situations.