Complementary and Integrative Treatments in Psychiatric Practice

I am a psychiatric nurse practitioner. Nurses in general are more holistic in nature. Most nurse practitioners spent years at the bedside as a “regular” nurse and know that health and illness is largely dependent on life style. We know that eating a healthy diet, getting enough sleep, exercise and clean water, managing stressors and avoiding too much of any one thing is part of general health. So as a psych NP I have wanted to incorporate more integrative medicine into my practice. I recently attended a conference and then decided to pick up some books to help with my self-education in this field. I bought this one.This book is great so far and I have not even read the whole thing. I like that it is research based and referenced very well. What I have learned so far in my journey of trying to provide a more integrative approach for my patients, is that there is a lot of claim that integrative treatments are as good or better than traditional “Western Medicine” or “the medical model” as nurse practitioners call it. And I have colleges that practice only the medical model that decry any integrative treatments as not evidence based and thus having no value in mental health treatment. I believe the truth is somewhere in the middle.There is a lot of research that integrative treatments help people but there is also a lot of “Snake oil” out there. In order for the good stuff to be taken seriously, those that promote integrative treatments must be fully honest and take the good with the bad. For instance the authors say that vitamin D has not shown in vigorous research that it is helpful for depression. But the authors also say that theoretically it should be helpful and we know that adding Vitamin D is a good heath decision, so it is recommended with the understanding that there is no solid research saying that Vitamin D will help your depression. That I can respect.I like that if there is no valid research, the authors tell you. They also talk about how some research (related to a specific treatment) may have not been considered due to some problems but they still give you that info so you and your patient can decide if you want to utilize it.I see this book as a valuable and trustworthy reference!

This book provides the hard to find info on all kinds of complementary supplements people use from medical doctors with expertise in whole body effects

Book Review: Complementary and Integrative Treatments in Psychiatric PracticeComplementary and Integrative Medicine (CAIM) is rapidly emerging in clinical practices with a burgeoning evidence base to back it up. If you have been interested but haven’t found a source of reliable information to guide you through this new frontier, this is it. You can learn from the experts.For the past five years, How to Use Herbs, Nutrients & Yoga in Mental Health, by Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin (colleagues at Columbia and New York Medical College) has been on my desk providing credibly referenced information on supplements taken by my patients, family, friends, and myself. We now have their invaluable text, Complementary and Integrative Treatments in Psychiatric Practice, which includes not only their methods for safely integrating a wider range of CAIM with standard treatment, but also chapters from other international authorities.If you don’t know enough about SAMe, nootropics, adaptogens, mind-body methods, self-administered electrotherapy, and other complementary treatments to advise your patients, or, even better, to integrate these approaches with your conventional care, then you can get up to speed thanks to this book.Adult and child problems are covered. The science, practice, past and future of CAIM are comprehensively and clearly presented. Decision trees guide the clinician looking to improve patient outcomes and minimize medication side effects and herb-drug interactions. Each chapter concludes with "Key Learning Points," so the lessons are even clearer.Patients who wish to avoid medication side effects or those whose suffering is not sufficiently ameliorated deserve new treatment options. This book gives us what we clinicians need to address their needs safely and effectively.Get this 21st century book and be a better clinician, friend and manager of your own wellbeing.Lloyd I. Sederer, M.D., Adjunct Professor, Columbia/Mailman School of Public Health, Medical Editor for Mental Health, The Huffington Post

Just started reading but I like that it is full of research references

I am pleased to see references to the research on micronutrients featured in this text as a viable first line approach to mental health. The supplement mentioned, Daily Essential Nutrients, has helped many patients successfully avoid dependence on psychotropic medications. It's about time someone wrote a scholarly book about these "physiologically sensible" integrative treatments!

This is not a bad introduction to complementary therapies in psychiatry, but the chapters are of variable quality. Some are unbridled endorsement of a particular therapy, while others are well-referenced reviews of clinical trials. I found “integrative psychiatry and brain health “ by Monti &Newberg and “complementary and integrative therapies for mental health and aging “ by Lavretsky et al to be better balanced reviews of this topic

Dr. Philip Adu demystified qualitative data coding by presenting all the necessary steps required to reduce qualitative research data in a very comprehensive manner. This book is a must-have for both early researchers as well as already established qualitative researchers.