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Complementary & Alternative Therapies for Mental Health
As a Naturopathic Psychotherapist, I have devoted my career to learning about complementary and alternative therapies that improve emotional health.
My book,
Healing & Wholeness: Complementary and Alternative Therapies for Mental Health provides a
comprehensive overview of such treatments.
Since receiving my Doctorate in Naturopathy in 2001, I have continued to pursue my education in alternative medicine in the area of mental health.
Towards this effort, I am in the process of earning my second doctorate degree, a Ph.D in Psychology from, the
Institute of Transpersonal Psychology. Additionally, I have received training and have experience in other
complementary and alternative methods, including the following:
- Clinical Hypnosis
- Biofeedback
- Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
- Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP)
- Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT)
- Hakomi Therapy (Body-centered, somatic psychotherapy)
- Herbology
- Nutritional Therapy
- Auditory Processing Therapy
- Music Therapy
- Tuning Fork Therapy
- Detoxification and Fasting
- Aromatherapy
- Massage Therapy
- Kinesiology
- Reflexology
- Cold Laser Therapy
- Traditional Chinese Medicine
- Tui-Na (Acupressure)
- Yang Style Tai Chi Chuan
- Hatha and Ashtanga Yoga
Exactly What are Complementary and Alternative Therapies?
Because of the increasing popularity of complementary and alternative medicine (nearly 40 percent of U.S. adults report using it)
more and more people have become curious about it. When using the term "alternative medicine," it refers to practices not typically
used in conventional Western medicine. Exactly what's considered alternative medicine changes constantly as more treatments undergo
study and move into the mainstream. When an alternative medicine therapy is used in addition to (not instead of) conventional therapy,
it's called "complementary." When you use a complementary therapy in addition to a conventional one, it's called integrative medicine.
Examples of Complementary and Alternative Medicine
To make sense of the many therapies available, it helps to look at how they are classified by the National Center for Complementary and
Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), the lead agency that funds for scientific research on CAM in the United States. The NCCAM categories are:
- Whole medical systems
- Mind-body medicine
- Biologically based practices
- Manipulative and body-based practices
- Energy medicine
The distinctions between therapies aren't always clear-cut, and some systems use techniques from more than one category.
A whole system isn't just a single practice or remedy, such as massage, but many practices that center on a philosophy, such as the power of
nature or the presence of energy in your body. Examples of whole systems include:
- Ancient healing systems. These healing systems arose long before conventional Western medicine and include
Ayurveda from India and
traditional Chinese medicine.
- Homeopathy. This approach uses minute doses of a substance that causes symptoms to stimulate the body's
self-healing response.
- Naturopathy. This approach focuses on noninvasive treatments to help your body do its own healing
and uses a variety of practices,
such as massage, acupuncture, herbal remedies, exercise, and lifestyle counseling.
In addition to these systems, there are specific therapeutic approaches. The following represents the primary areas:
- Mind-body techniques strengthen the communication between your mind and your body. Complementary and alternative medicine practitioners
say these two systems must be in harmony for you to stay healthy. Examples of mind-body connection techniques include meditation, prayer,
and relaxation and art therapies.
- Biologically based practices include dietary supplements and herbal remedies. These treatments use
ingredients found in nature. Examples of herbs include ginseng, ginkgo, and St. John's wort, while examples of other
dietary supplements include amino acids, vitamins, and minerals. Herbs and supplements can be taken as teas,
oils, syrups, powders, tablets, or capsules.
- Manipulation and body-based practices use human touch to move or manipulate a specific part of your body.
They include chiropractic and osteopathic manipulation and massage.
- Energy medicine practitioners believe an invisible energy force flows through your body, and when
this energy flow is blocked or unbalanced you can become sick. Different traditions call this energy by
different names, such as chi, prana, and life force. The goal of these therapies is to unblock or re-balance
your energy force. Energy therapies include qi gong, therapeutic touch, reiki, and magnet therapy.
Many conventional psychotherapists and doctors practicing today have received little or no training in CAM therapies,
so they are not qualified to make recommendations and address questions in this area.
With the increasing popularity of CAM therapies, many practitioners are trying to jump on the band wagon, so it is
important to ask what education and training each practitioner has.
I have devoted my career to receiving extensive education, training, and experience in this area, and
have the following qualifications in the area of Complementary and Alternative Medicine:
- Doctorate in Naturopathy (The study of Complementary and Alternative Therapies)
- Masters in Psychology in Holistics Studies (Transpersonal Psychology and Somatic Psychotherapies)
- Ph.D Candidate in the field of Transpersonal Psychology
For more information about how I can combine naturopathy and psychotherapy to help you, please call
(408) 315-0645 or
contact me online.
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