CAM FOR MENTAL HEALTH CONDITIONS
GLOSSARY
This outline uses the general glossary of SAMHSA’s National Registry of Evidence-based
Programs and Practices
http://nrepp.samhsa.gov/AboutGlossary.aspx
ADDITIONAL GLOSSARY:
Adjunctive use means use of multiple psychotropic drugs. Use of one psychotropic drug alone
is called monotherapy.
Psychotropic drug means any drug that significantly affects mental processes
MAOI, SSRI, and Tricyclic Antidepressants, see the NIMH’s website on treatment of depression,
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/depression/how-is-depression-diagnosed-and-
treated.shtml
Mood stabilizers are medications used to even out the mood swings experienced by a person
with bipolar disorder. All mood stabilizers treat mania and hypomania, and some have been
found to be effective in treating depression as well. See the NIMH’s website on treatment of
bipolar disorder:
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/bipolar-disorder/how-is-bipolar-disorder-
treated.shtml
The first mood stabilizer discovered was lithium, a naturally occurring substance. Other mood
stabilizers currently used were originally developed to treat seizure disorders, such as epilepsy,
and are thus called anticonvulsants. Acute episodes of mania result in psychosis in as many as
two-thirds of those with this disorder. Thus, antipsychotics are used frequently in treating