Complementary and Alternative Medicine for Psychologists: An Essential Resource

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.

Jeffrey E. Barnett, PsyD, is a professor and the associate chair of the Department of Psychology at Loyola University Maryland. He also is a licensed psychologist in private practice, Board Certified by the American Board of Professional Psychology, and a Distinguished Practitioner of the National Academies of Practice. He has published and presented extensively on ethics, legal, and professional practice issues for psychologists and other mental health professionals. Among other awards, he received the 2009 APA Award for Distinguished Contributions to the Independent Practice of Psychology and the 2011 APA Outstanding Ethics Educator Award.
 
Allison J. Shale, PsyD, is a postdoctoral fellow at ANDRUS, a community mental health clinic in While Plains, New York, where she works primarily with children, adolescents, and families. She has published and presented at professional conferences on the ethical and effective integration of various complementary and alternative medicine modalities into clinical practice for mental health professionals. Her other areas of interest include clinical child/pediatric psychology and ethical issues in practice.
 
Gary Elkins, PhD, is a professor and director of the Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology at Baylor University. He is also the director of the Mind–Body Medicine Research Laboratory at Baylor, where he leads a team of graduate students, postdoctoral fellows, and clinical staff. In 2012, he received the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Investigator Award from the Society of Behavioral Medicine. Dr. Elkins is the president-elect of APA Division 30 (Society of Psychological Hypnosis) and the author of three books and more than 75 articles in the areas of clinical psychology, health, and hypnosis.
 
William Fisher, PhD, is the author of more than a dozen journal articles and book chapters. His research interests include health psychology, with a particular interest in women's health. He has presented his work at professional conferences nationally and internationally and is a recipient of the Texas Psychological Foundation's Alexander Psychobiology/Psychophysiology Award.