Online Program

281746
Sources of evidence concerning use of CAM for mental health conditions


Wednesday, November 6, 2013 : 8:30 a.m. - 8:50 a.m.

David Shern, Ph.D, Johns Hopkins University, Tampa, FL
Mental Health America has completed a review of the nine principal secondary sources commenting on the efficacy, drug interactions and side effects of the twenty most discussed complementary and alternative treatments for mental health conditions. MHA began with the information accepted by the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), and added the information contained in nine recent compilations of evidence and findings concerning CAM for mental health disorders: (1) David Mischoulon's and Jerrold Rosenbaum's Natural Medications for Psychiatric Disorders: Considering the Alternatives (2002/2008), (2) How to Use Herbs, Nutrients & Yoga in Mental Health Care, by Richard P. Brown, Philip R. Muskin and Patricia L. Gerbarg (2009), (3) The seminal article, “Dietary Supplements and Natural Products as Psychotherapeutic Agents,” by Adriane Fugh-Berman and Jerry M. Cott (1999), (4) the Natural Standard Herb and Supplement Guide (2010 edition), (5) Berkeley (University of California) Wellness Reports – Dietary Supplements (2010 and 2011 editions), (6) Consumer Reports, “Dangerous Supplements,” published by Consumers Union (2010), (7) The Mayo Clinic Guide to Alternative Medicine 2011 (8) Iovieno, N., Dalton, E. D., Fava, M. & Mischoulon, D., “Second-tier Natural Antidepressants: Review and Critique” (2011), and (9) Andrew Weil, M.D.'s latest book, Spontaneous Happiness (2011). Distilling the principal findings of the nine sources concerning, efficacy, drug interactions and side effects for the twenty most discussed CAM treatments, and the meta-analyses, reviews, and studies cited by the nine sources, MHA describes the six most promising CAM treatments for mental health conditions in the abstracts that follow.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Basic medical science applied in public health
Chronic disease management and prevention
Clinical medicine applied in public health

Learning Objectives:
Describe the study design used to distill the principal findings of comparative effectiveness reviews addressing efficacy, drug interactions and side effects for the twenty most discussed CAM treatments. Describe efficacy, drug interactions and side effects for two promising CAM treatments

Keyword(s): Mental Health, Herbal Medicine

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have a 30 year history of mental health services research and leadership including leading the nation's oldest and largest mental health advocacy organizations. I have chaired the mental health section of APHA and served on the governing council.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.