EBMH NOTEBOOK

Complementary medicines in mental health

U Werneke

Department of General Adult Psychiatry, Sunderby Hospital, 97180 Luleå, Sweden and Umeå University, Department of Clinical Sciences—Psychiatry, 90187 Umeå, Sweden

Correspondence to:
Dr U Werneke, Department of General Adult Psychiatry, Sunderby Hospital, 97180 Luleå, Sweden; uwerneke@gmail.com

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

The use of complementary medicines for mental health problems generates wide public interest. Patients, particularly when suffering from chronic mental health problems such as anxiety and depression, may use complementary medicines for a variety of reasons. Some may feel that a complementary approach is more "integrative" balancing mind and body; others may wish to gain control of their mental health problems. Again others may have been disappointed by conventional treatments.¹ With the ubiquitous availability of knowledge in today’s high tech world, patients are increasingly well informed about treatment options. They may even be more knowledgeable about complementary medicines than clinicians whose experience in this area of practice is usually quite limited. Indeed, current professional regulations may make it extremely difficult for doctors to practise complementary medicine. Very rarely conventional treatment options, which a clinician is professionally bound to give preference, cannot be identified. Pharmacological complementary medicines are not subject to . . . [Full text of this article]

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