Sources of evidence concerning use of CAM for mental health conditions

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.