Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Psychologists

How do yoga, meditation, or massage affect our health? Mental health practitioners can expect as many as four in ten of their clients to be using these therapies to supplement conventional psychotherapy.

This book arms therapists with the information they need to provide advice on the safety and effectiveness of complementary and alternative medicine therapies and describes a broad array of approaches that may benefit clients.

These include:

• mind-body therapies such as biofeedback, meditation, hypnosis, yoga, and spirituality
• biologically-based practices including dietary supplements and aroma therapy
• manipulative and body-based therapies including chiropractic care, massage, and movement therapy
• energy medicine such as Reiki
• whole medical systems of traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda

Each chapter focuses on the underlying science to describe how the approach works, relevant research, contraindications, and risks, and how to integrate the approach with psychological practice.