How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care [Hardcover]

Richard P. Brown (Author), Patricia L. Gerbarg (Author), Philip R. Muskin (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0393705250 | ISBN-13: 978-0393705256 | Publication Date: January 5, 2009 | Edition: 1

All you need to know about herbs, nutrients, and yoga for enhancing mental health.

Many physicians and therapists agree that herbs and mind-body practices enhance health, but many more are reluctant to integrate them into their clinical work because of a lack of training or, given how long it takes to master the use of hundreds of different herbs, a lack of time. But the trend is clear: clients and consumers alike want control over their health care choices, making the time ripe for a practical resource that guides both the clinician and the consumer on complementary and alternative medicine (CAM).

This book answers that call. Three noted experts in integrative medicine, Drs. Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin, demystify the complexities of alternative mental health care, giving readers a comprehensive yet accessible guidebook to the best treatment options out there.

From mood, memory, and anxiety disorders to ADD, sexual enhancement issues, psychotic disorders, and substance abuse, every chapter covers a major diagnostic category. The authors then present a range of complementary and alternative treatments—including the use of herbs, nutrients, vitamins, nootropics, hormones, and mind-body practices— that they have found to be beneficial for various conditions within each category. For example, B complex vitamins and folate have been shown to help with depression; omega-3 fatty acids can offer relief for bipolar sufferers; coherent and resonant breathing techniques—used by Buddhist monks—induce healthy alpha rhythms in the brain to relieve anxiety; the elderly can boost their memory by taking the ancient medicinal herb Rhodiola rosea; and those with chronic fatigue syndrome can find comfort in acupuncture and yoga. Focusing on evidence-based approaches, the research, the authors’ clinical experience, and the potential risks and benefits of each treatment are carefully examined.

Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin have distilled an otherwise daunting field of treatment down to its basics: their overriding approach is to present the CAM methods that are most practical in a clinical setting, easy to administer, and low in side effects. With helpful summary tables at the end of each chapter, clinical pearls, and case vignettes interspersed throughout, this is a must-have resource for all clinicians and consumers who want the best that alternative medicine has to offer.

Editorial Reviews

Review

“This book is for everyone…an invaluable resource for practitioners and consumers alike.” (Townsend Letter )

“[T]his book offers credible information about almost every widely available over-the-counter herb or nutrient….outstanding compilation of research and superb way in which the research is woven into a narrative….as exhaustive and reliable a source for these CAM therapies as one will find on the shelf today.” (Yoga Therapy Today )

“[A]n excellent reference...that will appeal to CAM consumers and practitioners as well as conventional physicians. All will find a thoughtful review of practical guidelines for the application of CAM treatments for neurology and psychiatry. I give it a thumbs up!” (HerbalGram Magazine )

“[I]nvaluable for practicing physicians and those in the mental health industry.” (Midwest Book Review )

“A go-to source for information on integrative mental health.” (Mehmet C. Oz, MD, FACS )

“[T]he best book on this difficult topic that I have come across.” (Journal of Mental Health )

“Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin have distilled an otherwise daunting field of treatment down to its basics: their overriding approach is to present the CAM methods that are most practical in a clinical setting, easy to administer, and low in side effects.” (Current Psychiatry Online )

“[A] powerful book...has the potential to blow a gaping hole in the current wall of psychiatric ignorance of natural therapies.” (Chris Kilham, Medicine Hunter )

“[R]eadable by healthcare consumers...highly useful to mental health professionals....be they MD psychiatrist, PhD psychologist, CSW or LMHC psychotherapist.” (Stephen Larsen, PhD, LMHC, BCIA-eeg )

About the Author

Richard P. Brown, MD, is an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons. He lives in Kingston, New York.

Patricia L. Gerbarg, MD, is an assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at New York Medical College. She lives in Kingston, New York.

Philip R. Muskin, MD, is a professor of clinical psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, and chief of consultation-liaison psychiatry at New York–Presbyterian Hospital. He lives in New York City.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (January 5, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393705250
• ISBN-13: 978-0393705256
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #100,466 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars For Every Mental Health Professional, January 4, 2009

By 

Stephen Larsen (New Paltz, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care (Hardcover)

For those who hover between the worldviews of the Western medical establishment and the holistic model, this book offers a balanced and informative guide. Dr.'s Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin have elite credentials, and offer excellent academic scholarship along with genuine empathy for people suffering with illnesses and traumas. This book is readable by healthcare consumers and is highly useful to mental health professionals as well.
This book is very even-handed in dealing with traditional (prescription) psychopharmacology, herbal remedies, and mind-body approaches--and their interactions. For this reason, it is the best guide on the market for people who have tried multiple approaches to life-endangering, or life-quality compromising problems. The authors intelligently and respectfully analyze self-help approaches such as yoga, Qi Gong, or breathing exercises. Though they agree with modern medicine that the peer-reviewed, placebo controlled study is important in assessing the efficacy of any treatment, traditional or holistic, they also note the limitations of this approach. Side effects, risks, and benefits of all treatments are discussed as well as how to tailor remedies for different constitutions. This includes how prescription medications may contraindicate certain herbal remedies, or even certain yoga practices. Another invaluable feature of this book is that it provides guidelines that help locate reliable quality products.
This book is a must for laymen and professionals who are open to a wide variety of approaches, use them, or share patients with other doctors or healers who use them. In a complex living nervous system, how might these interventions interact, amplifying (or detracting) from each others' effects? What are the underlying systems, say "serotonergic" or "cholinergic" that might be impacted by this anti-depressant, that herb?
Highly effective alternative but less-well-known therapies such as neurofeedback, Les Fehmi's Open Focus, and yoga breathing techniques are discussed. As a professional who is versed in these fields, I found the sections on these topics carefully researched, accurate and well-presented.

Stephen Larsen, Ph.D, LMHC, BCIA-eeg is Psychology Professor Emeritus, SUNY, and the author of The Healing Power of Neurofeedback, The Fundamentalist Mind, and A Fire in the Mind, The Life of Joseph Campbell.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource!, January 8, 2009

By 

Susan Rubin "Susan Rubin" (Marlton, NJ, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care (Hardcover)

This book is the reference I have been waiting for. Though many websites and health advocates promote nutritional supplements, I am aware that they are regulated by the FDA in a different manner than prescriptions and other over-the-counter medications. Like other consumers, I am forced to frequently buy without a sense of confidence. This is the first and only guide I have found that identifies manufacturers - and not in any way that benefits the authors. Though the book was filled with much valuable information, it is worth its purchase price just for the Appendix and Guide to Buying Quality Products.

Further, there is ample empirical evidence to support yoga's myriad health benefits. I frequently recommend the practice of yoga to my clients and they invariably find improvement of both their physical and mental status.

This book is a perfect reference point. Lay people and mental health practitioners alike, who respect the value of both Western and Eastern modalities and want to reap ALL of the benefits of the knowledge that is available to help themselves or their clients will find this an invaluable addition to their bookshelf.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lay people can find it all in this book, January 18, 2009

By 

R. Barzin - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care (Hardcover)

This book is encyclopedic! It covers most areas concerning adults who take charge of their own health. The authors speak with authority, backing up their information with 60 pages of references and case studies experienced in their practices. I finally could understand what the herbs can do, where to purchase the best brands,and the safest way to use them.