141st APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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Online Program

5065.0
Six promising complementary and alternative treatments for mental health conditions: A comparative evidence-based approach

Wednesday, November 6, 2013: 8:30 a.m. - 10:00 a.m.
Oral
Unlike most other APHA presentations, this panel intends to summarize a large body of work rather than a few studies and is designed to appeal to all healthcare practitioners and APHA members. Consumers and healthcare practitioners are bombarded with contradictory testimonials and anecdotes about herbs, supplements, and other non-prescription treatments that are marketed for mental health conditions. These complementary and alternative (“CAM”) approaches are used by at least 40% of consumers, often without advice from a healthcare practitioner, and many health care practitioners and consumers are not aware of the evidence of efficacy and safety that exists, constrained as it is by lack of an economic incentive for manufacturers to do reliable research. There is no Physician's Desk Reference or other reliable compendium of evidence-based analysis to help deal with the hype. Responding to this need, Mental Health America (“MHA”)has developed an outline reviewing the twenty most discussed promising CAM treatments for mental health conditions (based on the nine secondary sources identified by MHA) and will be hosting a website to make the evidence available to healthcare practitioners and the general public. MHA hopes that the 2013 APHA Annual Conference will help to launch the website by informing the APHA membership of the six most promising CAM treatments distilled from the outline. The promising practices have been selected based on the lack of uncontrollable side effects and the efficacy shown in preliminary studies, as discussed by the sources and in the meta-analyses, reviews and studies cited by them.
Session Objectives: Compare the efficacy, drug interactions and side effects of the six promising CAM treatments described in these abstracts. Discuss with the panel and with colleagues the work needed to refine the outline and to make it accessible to consumers and practitioners. Describe at least two examples of misunderstandings about CAM treatments for mental health conditions and how the outline can be used to correct these misunderstandings.
Moderator:
Joseph de Raismes

8:30am
Sources of evidence concerning use of CAM for mental health conditions   
David Shern, Ph.D
8:50am
St. john's wort for depression, omega-3 fatty acids for mood stabilization and depression, and cranial electrical stimulation for substance use rehabilitation, depression, anxiety, and sleep disorders   
David Mischoulon, M.D., Ph.D. and David Shern, Ph.D
     
9:10am
S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe) for depression, to enhance the effectiveness of conventional anti-depressants and as a possible neuro-protectant   
Richard P Brown, MD Board Certified Psychiatrist
     
  
9:30am
Rhodiola rosea, a medicinal herb for stress, mild to moderate depression and neuro-protection   
Richard P Brown, MD Board Certified Psychiatrist and Patricia Gerbarg, M.D.
     
  
9:50am
Therapeutic mind-body practices: Yoga, breathing techniques, and meditation for treatment of stress, depression, anxiety, PTSD, ADHD, and schizophrenia   
Richard P. Brown, M.D. and Patricia Gerbarg, M.D.
     
        

See individual abstracts for presenting author's disclosure statement and author's information.

Organized by: Mental Health
Endorsed by: Alternative and Complementary Health Practices, Asian Pacific Islander Caucus for Public Health, Community-Based Public Health Caucus, Chiropractic Health Care, Disability

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH)

See more of: Mental Health