How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care

This book is a most valuable source of information for those who would like scientific evidence of the benefits of yoga as a component of a mental therapy. The three authors are regarded as leading authorities on the application of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) to mental health treatment. They have outstanding academic credentials as researchers and psychiatry professors and clearly affirm through the entire book that CAM procedures, particularly yoga, are mainly complementary, rather than alternative strategies. The book is organized in ten chapters dealing with specific mental health conditions ranging from anxiety and mood disorders to schizophrenia and substance abuse, and has a general introductory chapter about the basic principles of integrative mental health care. Their major focus of attention is on those CAM treatments that the authors have found helpful in clinical practice, are easy to administer, and have low side effects. Each chapter has a comprehensive presentation of the mental condition under consideration and the most common treatments used by specialists, as well as the research evidence and clinical experience in applying both traditional and CAM treatments. This encyclopaedic book is a rich source of information on the positive contribution of CAM procedures, including yoga practices; it has an abundant bibliography and has many case examples illustrating the complementary results of traditional and CAM approaches. There are also well-prepared summaries, charts, tables, 'clinical pearls,' a selected list of websites, and appendixes about finding safe and effective nutrients and herbal products. This review is limited to the yoga contribution to the management of mental health issues.From a yoga perspective, the authors take a holistic approach that incorporates not only various Asanas, but also precise breathing and relaxation techniques, meditation, and yoga philosophy. Their major source of inspiration comes from Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, founder of the Art of Living Foundation, and creator of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga (SKY). This yoga school gives particular emphasis to various Pranayama ('breath control') practices that include Ujjayi ('victorious breath'), Bhastrika ('bellows breath' or 'breath of fire'), and Nadi shodanam ('alternate nostril breathing'). The authors say that SKY calms the sympathetic nervous system, activates the parasympathetic nervous system and elevates serum levels of brain-derived neurotropic factors, which is an indicator of increased neuroplasticity. In one of their 'clinical pearls' (page 113), they conclude that yoga can enhance psychotherapy because it may reduce the need to avoid emotions through repression, suppression, denial, numbing, and dissociation; it reduces anxiety, over reactivity, and sleep difficulties; it improves cognitive-emotional integration; and it reduces trauma-related somatic experiences, and strengthens the therapeutic alliance through patient empowerment and collaboration. This book is necessary read, not only for mental health care clinicians, but also for anyone curious about the assistance provided by yoga and other complementary and alternative approaches.Dr. Richard P. Brown is Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University. He has been practicing yoga, Zen meditation, QiGong and Aikido for more than 30 years. In addition to his training in psychiatry, psychopharmacology and psychobiology, his personal interest in the therapeutic use of herbs prepared him to become a leading authority on CAM treatments for mental health. Dr. Brown has played a major role in offering workshops and guidance to members of the September 11 Community (Serving those Who Serve - STWS). Dr. Patricia L. Gerbarg, is Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York Medical College. With her husband, Dr. Brown, she wrote about the use of Rhodiola rosea to combat stress. And Dr. Philip R. Muskin is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University and a specialist in geriatric psychiatry and psychosomatic medicine. He has written about the uses of yoga and CAM in psychiatry, and founded the Comforter Program at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital to provide emotional support to families of patients in intensive care units.

An excellent book on evidence-based CAM treatments that serves to provide an educational foundation for both the patient and the mental health provider. The book's target audience is mental health professionals seeking that foundation for CAM treatment. Its value to laymen like me is that it really helps in showing clinical trial and clinical practice support for CAM treatments so that I can make more informed decisions, partnering with a mental health professional when various agents are used for treatment (therefore, it isn't meant to serve as a completely self-driven self-help book). On the other hand, the information on mind-body practices is not only excellent but was enough to get me to get trained on those practices that have shown great effectiveness. The non-demonization of pharmaceuticals as well as the use of CAM for supplementing them (and, of course, replacing them) was very helpful; I had some misinformation about clinical trials that the authors greatly helped with. A very strong element of the book is its openness -- grounding in science and a desire to get it across that mental health professionals need to take the responsibility to educate themselves on the mechanisms of these agents and practices (that's why the book tries to avoid a cookbook recipe for prescribing specific protocols for symptoms and disorders).If the authors are reading this, here is some feedback on improvements: 1. Dr. Brown has commented elsewhere on the use of Tianeptine, Reboxetine, Picamilion, and Piracetam for depression but these aren't discussed in the mood disorders chapter (Tianeptine is mentioned in the DHEA discussion; Picamilion, and Piracetam are discussed in a different chapter). 2. I think it's important to emphasize the value of CBT/ExRP therapy (esp. given the numerous clinical studies showing its effectiveness) and the need to get a well-trained CBT therapist (someone who knows Beck or Barlow methods). 3. It would have been helpful to get at least clinical experience regarding the effect of diet changes for the disorders. 4. Inositol should have been given more discussion in the anxiety chapter esp. given that the authors cite the clinical trials done in Israel on its effectiveness for OCD. Note: from what I've read, the dose for depression for Inositol (12-20g) is incorrect. Note that the studies showed high effectiveness with 12g for anxiety and 18g for OCD. Also, anti-agingsytems.com doesn't carry Inositol. 5. I felt that Shannahoff-Khalsa's studies on left-nostril breathing for OCD should have been delved into more. 6. Other integrative doctors (e.g. Dr. Podell -[...] and Dr. Schachter - [...]) take a 'targeted amino acid' therapy approach (e.g. test blood/urine for hormone, neurotransmitter deficiences & then prescribe supplements/treatment based on that). I would have liked a discussion on whether this testing and specific targeting based on the results of this testing has value. 7. Nutrients (e.g. B vitamins, etc.) and clinical studies supporting their effectiveness in anxiety disorders would have been helpful in the anxiety section (nutrients are given slim discussion there). 8. I nkow these are guidelines but ... pg 342 ('Impairment of Cognition...') was unclear: should one use ALL of these agents or try them one at a time? 9. I was confused w/ the list of asmple meds for depression & severe anxiety on pg. 135 - I thought tricyclics have been largely replaced by SSRIs and SNRIs, no?The above 'improvements' show how much I value and digested this book because the information in here is VERY valuable & needs to be given strong and diligent consideration. It's very reinsuring that there are people like Doctors Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin as well as Podell and Schachter who come from prestigious medical schools and facilities & who see the value in CAM.

Indispensable! Covers almost every nutrient and drug found to help with brain function--whether you have Alzheimer's symptoms or simply want to ensure that your brain can continue to function at its very best. Most of this research was first done in Europe and is little known in the US or Canada.Studies of autopsies have found that almost half those diagnosed as having Alzheimer's instead had cognitive problems such as vascular dementia that could have been reversed if they had been treated with the nutrients and drugs this book cites. So get this book!

I wanted a book that scientifically reviewed herbs and nutrients for mental health issues. This is perfect.

I heard Dr. Gerbarg speak several months ago and immediately began using several of the supplements she recommended, Rhodiola Rosea and SAMe. I felt a significant improvement in my energy level after about 2 weeks. It's as though my energy finally kicked into gear for the first time in a long time, and I felt myself again. Then I ordered her book. This is the best composite of research and useful information on non-medical remedies for depression, anxiety, fibromyalgia and other conditions that I have yet to come across. It clarifies how to use these supplements, what dosages to take them in, and how to find them. This is a win-win.

My MD recommended this book to me. There is a lot of good knowledge and info about non prescription healing alternatives. I've found replacements for prescription drugs through this book that have no side effects and are cheaper! Well worth the purchase price.

I am using this in my office as a reference when patients tell me all of the usual and unusual supplements they are taking. Comprehensive listing of uses with comments on impact of use