Your Guide to Complementary Medicine

A comprehensive handbook to finding the right complementary therapy profiles, among others, eight methods of holistic psychotherapy and three varieties of massage, outlining related costs, benefits, and mechanics. Original. IP.

This encyclopedic guide should be just the ticket for those looking for concise explanations of alternative medical practices that, in combination with Western approaches, comprise the two elements of "complementary" medicine. The introduction cites the oft-told tale about how a 1971 front-page account in the New York Times on how acupuncture provided relief of aftereffects of an appendectomy "awakened" Americans to the practice of complementary medicine. The chapter, "Guidelines for Choosing Therapy," offers sound advice applicable to any type of treatmentAconventional or alternativeAas well as an invaluable form for assessing a potential health-care provider. A "Quick-Reference Table" lists various common ailments and appropriate complementary-care approaches. The bulk of the book is devoted to jargon-free descriptions of therapies from acupuncture to trigger-point therapy. A real boon for the wary consumer is that the authorsArespectively an acupuncturist, a clinical social worker and a massage therapistAgive price ranges and estimates of the proper duration for initial sessions of various treatments. They also clarify what credentials a practitioner should have and recommend relevant books. A glossary, list of professional organizations and bibliography round out a practical, well-conceived volume.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This low-cost guide stands out for its easy-to-use format and its nonjudgmental description of complementary therapies. Introductory matter defines terms and gives guidelines for choosing a therapy. A "Quick-Reference Table" recommends for 18 general disorders the approaches most likely to treat them successfully. This is followed by an "A^-Z Guide to Complementary Medicine," which arranges 37 therapies in alphabetical order, supplying for each an introduction, a list of conditions that respond best, how the therapy works, what the patient can expect, the cost and duration of treatment, the credentials and education required, how to find a practitioner, professional organizations, and one or two recommended books. The four-to-five-page entries provide sufficient information so that the layperson will feel prepared for an initial visit. Penny Spokes