CHAPTER 25
Complementary and Alternative Therapies
CHRISTINE MAGUTH NEZU, SOLAM TSANG, ELIZABETH R. LOMBARDO, AND KIM P. BARON
591WESTERN SYSTEMS OF HEALING 592
Homeopathy 592
Osteopathy 593
Chiropractic 594
EASTERN SYSTEMS OF HEALING 595
Ayurveda 595
Traditional Chinese Medicine 596
OTHER COMMON HEALING APPROACHES 598
Herbal Remedies 598
Dietary, Nutrition, and Lifestyle Modification 601
Tactile Therapies 602
Movement Therapies 604
Expressive Therapies 605
Mind/Body Therapies 606
COMMON THEMES 607
FUTURE DIRECTIONS 607
Integration of Psychological Interventions and
Complementary and Alternative Therapies 607
A Decision-Making Problem 607
REFERENCES 607Complementary and alternative therapeutic approaches to the
treatment of medical disorders share many fundamental con-
cepts and philosophies with health psychology. The term
complementary and alternative therapyis used to describe a
set of treatments that serve as an adjunct to, or complement,
standard medicine practices, but also serve as an alternative
form of medical therapy. Many of these approaches promote
a holistic view of medicine, positing that psychological or
emotional experiences have a reciprocal relationship with
physical experiences, with a growing body of research sup-
porting this link (see Cohen & Herbert, 1996; Pelletier,
1992). A common perspective of many complementary and
alternative treatment approaches is that healing is viewed as
a process of becoming whole on many different levels (phys-
ical, emotional, social, spiritual) and often involves an in-
crease in awareness and self-discovery. Complementary and
alternative practitioners, similar to many health psycholo-
gists, aim to help patients achieve an increased understanding
of how their bodies, health, and well-being are linked. They
also aim to empower their patients to take a more active ap-
proach in health maintenance and decision making. In this
chapter we (a) present a description of popular complemen-
tary and alternative approaches to medicine, their clinical ap-
plications, and a brief summary of supporting research; (b)
present several common themes of these approaches from a
health psychology perspective; and (c) provide suggestions
for the future regarding the integration of such treatments
with psychological intervention.
One major criticism concerning complementary and alter-
native therapies that frequently emerges throughout this
chapter is the dif“culty in applying current scienti“c stan-
dards to these therapy approaches. This challenge is due
partially to the idiographic treatment and case history
methodologies employed by many complementary and alter-
native therapies, which contrast with the general diagnosis-
based methodologies employed by the biomedical approach.
Because health is often viewed as being related to multiple
causes and in”uenced by multiple systems, conventional
measurement and analyses are dif“cult to apply. Hence, re-
sults from existing research data tend to be inconsistent
and inconclusive. Until therapies are subjected to rigorous
methodologies, many of these healing approaches will not
be considered credible cures in their own right. Neverthe-
less, complementary and alternative therapies have been
increasingly accepted by the public. The various com-
plementary and alternative approaches have originated from
Western (e.g., homeopathy, osteopathy, chiropractic) and
Eastern (e.g., Ayruveda, traditional Chinese medicine) cul-
tures. Herbal remedies, lifestyle modi“cations, tactile thera-
pies, movement therapies, and mind/body therapies are
frequently used as treatment interventions for maintaining
health across cultures.