Complementary Therapies and Mental Health: Integrative and Alternative Recovery Methods

According to Health Canada, *Approximately 20% of individuals will experience a mental illness during their lifetime, and the remaining 80% will be affected by an illness in family members, friends or colleagues.* New medications and a more holistic approach to empowering people with mental disorders (consumers) and assisting them in gaining life skills through a collaborative approach has helped alleviate many symptoms. At the same time, many consumers are dissatisfied with conventional treatments and experience adverse side effects from medications. An increasing number are turning to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to alleviate their internal turmoil. An integrative approach was found to be the most fair and comprehensive method of increasing choices for consumers in their recovery. This book, therefore, provides an overview of all the different types of CAM therapies available and their relative effectiveness for treating mental illnesses. It will be especially useful to consumers, family members, psychiatrists, physicians, social workers, counsellors, therapists, community workers and anyone interested in integrative and alternative healing approaches.