We’ve all seen the words “complementary” and “alternative” but what do they really mean — and how are they different from one another?
Here’s a look into these terms to help you understand them better and gives you a brief picture of the mission and role they play in mental health. First of all, it’s important to remember that the terms “complementary” and “alternative” are continually evolving. The descriptions of these terms below are how both researchers and the public currently define them.
Complementary Versus Alternative
According to recent surveys, more than 30 percent of adults use health care approaches that are not typically part of conventional medical care. When describing these approaches, people often use “alternative” and “complementary” interchangeably, but the two terms refer to vastly different concepts.
If a non-mainstream approach is used together along with conventional medicine, it’s considered “complementary.” If a non-mainstream approach is used in place of conventional medicine, it’s considered “alternative.” The great majority of people who use non-mainstream approaches also use conventional health care.
Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Mental Health
When most people think of complementary and alternative modalities for mental health, they think of the following. However, these are just a portion of such approaches.
- Acupuncture
- Meditation
- Yoga
- Herbal medicine
- Massage
- Reiki
- Homeopathy
- Aromatherapy
- Dietary supplements
- Electrical stimulation
- Electromagnetic therapy
- Exercise
- Hypnotherapy
- Light therapy
- Mindfulness
- Laser Therapy
- Extracorporeal Shock Wave Therapy (ESWT)
- Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR)
- Biofeedback
- Chiropractic
- Energy medicine
- Meditation
- Naturopathy
- Reflexology
- Reiki
- Tai chi
- Alexander Technique
- Ayurveda
- Body-based manipulative therapies
- Chelation therapy
- Chinese medicine
- Spiritual Mind Treatment
- Feldenkrais Method
- Massage and joint manipulation
- Nutritional Healing
- Sauna Therapy
- Hydrotherapy
- Crystal Therapy
Integrative Health
In the treatment of mental health, integrative health brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Integrative health emphasizes multimodal interventions, that is two or more interventions such as conventional health care approaches (such as medication, physical rehabilitation and psychotherapy), and complementary health approaches (like meditation, tai chi, and nutrition) in various combinations. There’s an emphasis on treating the whole person – typically referred to as mind, body and spirit – rather than only one part of the system. Integrative health is focused on coordinated care between different modalities by bringing conventional and complementary approaches together to care for the whole person.
Some people prefer an integrative health approach because it takes a holistic approach to healthcare that incorporates both conventional medicine and complementary therapies to address the root cause of health concerns, potentially leading to more personalized and effective treatment plans while promoting overall well-being.
