Week 9:

Traditional (and) Complementary

Medicine
1
Noh Amit

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

2 Update on NC 6065

 Arrangement for NC6065 online series

 Traveling to resume clinical placement
 Students response to clients’ details for appointment arrangement

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

3 Outline

1. What is Traditional (and) Complementary Medicine?: Some terminologies

2. The use of Traditional Complementary Medicine in mental health services (Gujere et al,
2015)

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

4 Some Terminologies

 The World Health Organisation (WHO) has recently launched a Global Mental
Health Action Plan to close the treatment gap for mental disorders, using a
sharing approach between the community, primary and specialist care and other
relevant sectors.
 Traditional medicine (TM)—Traditional medicine is the sum total of the
knowledge, skills, and practices based on the theories, beliefs, and experiences
indigenous to different cultures, whether explicable or not, used in the
maintenance of health as well as in the prevention, diagnosis, improvement or
treatment of physical and mental illness.

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

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 TM is more widespread in low- and middle-income countries even though it also

tends to be popular and vibrant among minority cultures in industrialized
countries.

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

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 Standard Medical Care—is medicine that is practiced by health professionals

who hold an M.D. (medical doctor) or D.O. (doctor of osteopathy) degree. It is
also practiced by other health professionals, such as physical therapists, physician
assistants, psychologists, and registered nurses. Standard medicine may also be
called biomedicine or allopathic, Western, mainstream, orthodox, or regular
medicine. Some standard medical care practitioners are also practitioners of
CAM.

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 Complementary medicine is treatments that are used along with standard

medical treatments but are not considered to be standard treatments. One example
is using acupuncture to help lessen some side effects of cancer treatment.

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

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 Alternative medicine is treatments that are used instead of standard medical

treatments. One example is using a special diet to treat cancer instead of
anticancer drugs that are prescribed by an oncologist.

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

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 Integrative medicine is a total approach to medical care that combines standard

medicine with the CAM practices that have been shown to be safe and effective.
They treat the patient's mind, body, and spirit. 

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 Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is the term for medical products and
practices that are not part of standard medical care.
 Complementary and alternative medicine includes practices such as massage, acupuncture,
tai chi, and drinking green tea (to name a few).
 Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) tends to be less culture-specific and
more widely used in industrialized countries.

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

11 National Health Interview Survey by CDC
in USA in 2007
 In adults- 4 /10 use CAM, most commonly used are non-vitamin, nonmineral, natural
products (17.7%) and deep breathing exercises (12.7%).
 In children- 1/ 9 use CAM, most commonly used are non-vitamin, nonmineral, natural
products (3.9%) and chiropractic or osteopathic manipulation (2.8%).
 Children whose parent used CAM were almost 5x as likely (23.9%) to use CAM.
 When worry about cost delayed receipt of conventional care, individuals were more likely
to use CAM

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020

12 Classification of CAM therapies into (5):

 (1)Alternative Medical Systems: – Built upon complete systems of theory and practice.
 Examples- Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Acupuncture and Chinese medicine.

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 (2)Mind-Body Interventions: - Techniques designed to enhance the mind’s capacity to

affect bodily function and symptoms.
 Examples - Meditation, Spirituality, Creative therapies.

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 (3)Biologically Based Therapies: - Substances found in nature are used.

 Examples- Dietary supplements, Herbal products, vitamins.

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 (4)Manipulative and Body based methods: - Based on manipulation and/or movement of

one or more parts of the body.
 Examples- Yoga, Massage.

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 (5)Energy Therapies: - Involves the use of energy fields. Two types:

 a)Bio field therapies: - Qigong, Reiki, Therapeutic Touch.
 b)Bio electromagnetic therapies- pulsed fields, magnetic fields, or alternating-current or
direct-current fields.

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 Top 10 Foods to Fight Depression: link below
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JgI7G8bO7gU
 7 Foods Make Your Depression & Anxiety WORSE !!
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D7Mj1Gk-Tn8

 Further reading on “Complementary and Alternative Therapies in Psychiatry” by Dr. D. Raj Kiran
Does not cover:
 principles /philosophy on the intervention
 Biological explanations
 CANNOT AND DOES NOT CONSTITUTE MEDICAL ADVICE

 The additional lecture note: Try to relate to the potential psychological / mental health benefits of
TCM (the relationship/association and some research findings)

NNNC 6042 Psychopharmacotherapy_Sem II 2019/2020