Handbook of Complemeentary and Alternative Therapies in Mental Health

by Scott Shannon, MD (ed)

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San Diego, CA: Academic/Harcourt 2001 574pp $99.95

This is an excellent collection of discussions on a variety of CAM approaches for mental health.

Shannon opens with two chapters that succinctly summarize the emerging paradigm of working with body, mind and spirit, and provide an excellent overview of the holistic/integrative approach.

Modalities covered include
Physical interventions - Cranial Osteopathy, Aromatherapy, Diet and Essential Fatty Acids, Nutritional Supplements
Mind-body approaches - Biofeedback, Meditation, Qigong, Breathwork
Spiritual approaches - Therapeutic Touch, Spiritual Healing, Medical Intuition, Spiritual Psychotherapy
Innovations - EMDR, Hakomi and Body-Centered Psychotherapies, Process Work (Mindell)
Traditional medical system - Herbals, Homeopathy, Acupuncture, Ayurveda
Other approaches - Creative Arts, Environmental medicine, and Music.

Notable omissions: Applied kinesiology (covered very briefly), relaxation; flower essences, meridian based therapies.

The book is very well organized, with a detailed table of contents that allows readers to quickly find precisely what they want to explore. Each modality includes an overview, discussions of relevance to mental health, risks, case histories, training/certification, resources and references.

Shannon has done an excellent job gathering discussions of diverse approaches, presented in a manner that is readily accessed, easily understood, and supported with a balance of clinical and experimental evidence.

Disclosure: This reviewer has a chapter in this book.

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