Promoting Wellness in Mental Health"The CAM Approach in Psychiatry"

Promoting Wellness in Mental Health"The CAM Approach in Psychiatry"

Wellness in Mental Health

Promoting Wellness in Mental Health"The CAM Approach in Psychiatry"

In 2003, after examining the American psychiatric system for a

year, the President’s Freedom Commission on Mental Health

recommended “a fundamental transformation of the Nation’s

approach to mental health care. This transformation must

ensure that mental health services and supports actively

facilitate recovery, and build resilience to face life’s challenges."

(President’s New Freedom Comm 2003)

Three years later an extensive study covering eight states

revealed that the seriously mentally ill in America now die 25

years earlier than the general public. This is a 10- to 15-year

shorter lifespan than they had less than two decades earlier

(Parks 2006). “We’re going in the wrong direction and have to

change course,” commented lead author Joseph Parks, director

of psychiatric services for the Missouri Department of Mental

Health (Elias 2007).

The Parks report, published for the National Association of

State Mental Health Program Directors, stated: “State Mental

Health Authority (SMHA) stakeholders need to embrace two

guiding principles:

14 | Complementary and Alternative Medicine Treatments in Psychiatry

1. Overall health is essential to mental health.

2. Recovery includes wellness.” (Bold, italics, and

underline in original.) (Parks 2006)

These two principles, of course, apply to all psychiatric clients,

not just those in the public health system. The concepts of

“overall health” and “wellness” means we must address the

whole person if we are to improve our chances of facilitating the

recovery of mental health.

Currently most psychiatric treatment attempts to readjust the

individual’s neurological biochemistry through pharmacology.

To a lesser extent, psychotherapy is used to address trauma and

life situations. While these tools have a level of effectiveness and

may be sufficient for some, they collectively fall short of

addressing “overall health.”

This has not escaped the public’s notice. Seeking more effective

healthcare for psychiatric and other medical issues, they have

increasingly turned to other forms of treatment—commonly

referred to as complementary and alternative medicine or CAM.

In 2002, 36% of adult Americans used some form of CAM. If

prayer was included, that number swelled to 62% (Barnes 2004).

By 2007 CAM use had increased 14% (Su 2011).

In psychiatry, 54% of women with depression seek relief

through CAM therapies. Reasons given are a preference for a

“natural approach,” wanting treatments that are congruent with

their own beliefs and values, and experiencing unpleasant side

effects or poor results from orthodox treatment (Wu 2007).

Among psychiatric patients in general, 63% use some CAM

modality (Elkins 2005).

The past decade has also seen a burgeoning of articles in the

psychiatric literature on the use of such CAM treatments as

nutrients (e.g., fatty acids, folate, vitamin D), yoga, light therapy,

acupuncture, and exercise. A cursory search of the same journals

finds that CAM treatments have been discussed for a range of

disorders, including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia,

ADHD, dementia, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

Promoting Wellness in Mental Health"The CAM Approach in Psychiatry"