by Dr. Richard P. Brown, Dr. Patricia L. Gerbarg, and Dr. Philip R. Muskin
W.W. Norton, 2009

Many people use Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) because they want to enhance their health, prevent illness, slow the aging process, or participate more in their own health care choices.  Others find prescription medications to be ineffective, suffer unpleasant side effects, or fear long-term health risks.  Without the guidance of knowledgeable health care providers, many consumers have a hard time sorting out fact from fiction when trying to evaluate all the available information.  They may fall prey to practitioners who profit financially from the sale of products they recommend. The solutions this book shares are part of a new medical paradigm, integrating the best of standard and complementary treatments for long-term brain health, mental clarity, mental focus, memory, emotional health, and well-being.  The substantial but digestible text is peppered with “clinical pearls” and case vignettes.

Although many health care professionals believe that herbs and mind-body practices enhance health, they are reluctant to integrate these approaches into their clinical work.  This is understandable considering that very few were given courses in CAM during their training.  This book teaches practical methods to safely introduce new complementary treatments into clinical practice by focusing on CAM treatments that are the most helpful, easy to administer, and low in side effects.  With this knowledge, health care professionals will better serve their clients and develop integrative treatment plans leading to health enhancement and disease prevention.  A tiered decision-making approach shows how to add layers of complementary treatments for more and more improvements using the best herbs and the most effective, least time-consuming mind-body techniques.

Consumers and clinicians will find here a resource of practical information for many of the health issues they and their families are facing.  For example, the chapter on Attention Deficit Disorders and Learning Disabilities helps families looking for alternatives to medication.  Women will discover new approaches to Pre-menstrual Syndrome, infertility, mood disorders during and after pregnancy, physical and cognitive changes of menopause, and sexual enhancement. The chapter on Disorders of Cognition and Memory introduces ways to improve brain function and quality of life for people with age-associated memory decline, stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.  Other chapters cover mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder), anxiety disorders (stress, post-traumatic stress disorder, combat stress, mass disasters), medical conditions (fatigue, cancer, HIV), schizophrenia, and substance abuse.

This book will inspire you to continue learning about new discoveries in complementary and mind-body medicine.  For each treatment, the research evidence, clinical experience, risks and benefits are discussed.  Extensive references assist readers in pursuing more information in their areas of interest.  Tables list resources for finding high quality supplements.

WHAT READERS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK

This inspiring book provides hope to anyone experiencing a decline in his/her mental health.  Drs. Brown, Gerbarg and Muskin address a range of disorders spanning from mood and anxiety issues, to substance abuse problems, to weakness in memory, to learning disabilities.  After reading this book, you will feel comfortable with the concept of integrating Eastern and Western modalities into your healing regimen.  The information contained in these pages has been thoroughly researched and is presented in such a way that it is easy for anyone to comprehend.  This book offers a multi-faceted approach for treating dis-ease in the mind and body by incorporating the use of nutrition, exercise, supplementation, herbs, breathing practice and yoga with other conventional therapies.  In the true spirit of the “integrative” approach, Drs. Brown, Gerbarg and Muskin compare the successes and the failures of both allopathic and CAM treatments.  The book is complete in its presentation of material in that it also highlights the potential risks and benefits of each suggested treatment.  While “How to Use Herbs, Nutrients & Yoga in Mental Health Care” is an essential guide for all health practitioners, Drs. Brown, Gerbarg and Muskin relay their knowledge in such a clear and intriguing way that it will appeal to any audience.

On a more personal note, the information contained in this book has helped me improve my entire being in amazing ways.  By incorporating the breathing practice and introducing two herbal supplements into my daily routine, I have been able to completely stop taking the four pharmaceutical medications (antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anxiety medication and sleeping pills) which I had come to rely on to get me through life.  In less than six weeks, I was able to eliminate these four medications which I had come to depend on for almost seven years.  Now I am able to lead a more balanced, happy, and healthy existence.  I owe many thanks and much gratitude to Drs. Brown, Gerbarg and Muskin for sharing their knowledge with me and by doing so, allowing me to help myself.

-Jessica M (32 yrs old, NYC)

WHAT THE EXPERTS ARE SAYING ABOUT THIS BOOK

“A go-to source for information on integrative mental health.”

Mehmet C. Oz, MD, FACS, Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons.

“If you are a reader with mental and emotional needs going unmet by current drug therapy, you will unquestionably find the fountain of wisdom in this book…. This is a powerful book, one that has the potential to blow a gaping hole in the current wall of psychiatric ignorance of natural therapies,” writes Chris Kilham, Medicine Hunter, University of Amherst, Massachusetts.

“If you care about sustaining optimum mental health, memory, and sexual enjoyment, this book is essential reading. Drs. Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin have written a text that has the potential to revolutionize mainstream mental health care, and provide practitioners and consumers alike the confidence to seek out alternative treatments. This exhaustive guide is the most thorough and well-written resource of its kind. I will use it as a primary reference, not only in working yogically with people suffering from depression and mood disorders, but for my own optimal well-being.”

—Amy Weintraub, Founder and Director of LifeForce Yoga® Healing Institute and author of Yoga for Depression

“Congratulations to Drs. Brown, Gerbarg, and Muskin for giving us one of the most clinically useful and practical books on integrating complementary and alternative treatments into our practices! Using wonderfully written and helpful clinical vignettes, these experienced clinicians provide us with a roadmap to understanding the options and challenges that both practitioners and patients need to navigate. For mental health professionals and consumers alike, this is a must-have book!”

—Michelle Riba, MD, Professor of Psychiatry, Associate Chair for Integrated Medicine and Psychiatric Services, Department of Psychiatry, University of Michigan

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Richard P. Brown, M.D., Associate Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Columbia University, received his M.D. from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (1977), his Psychiatry Residency and Fellowship in Psychobiology and Psychopharmacology at New York Hospital. He has authored over 80 scientific articles, books, and book chapters.  His grandfather first taught him about plant medicines while gathering medicinal mushrooms in the hills of Kentucky.  Every year, Dr. Brown teaches full-day courses on Integrative Psychiatry (combining standard treatments with Complementary and Alternative Medicine) at the American Psychiatric Association meetings.  In 1999 Dr. Brown introduced S-adenosylmethionine (SAM-e) for treatment of depression at the New York Academy of Medicine and coauthored Stop Depression Now, a holistic approach to depression.  Dr. Brown and Dr. Gerbarg co-authored “Alternative Treatments in Brain Injury” in Neuropsychiatry of Traumatic Brain Injury (American Psychiatric Press, 2004) and “Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Psychiatry,” in Psychiatry Second and Third Editions (John Wiley & Sons, 2003 and 2008).

Dr. Brown is a certified teacher of Aikido (4th Dan), yoga, Chi Gong, and meditation.  His chapter on “Yoga in Psychiatry” appears in the Clinical Manual of Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Psychiatry (APPI 2007).  Dr. Brown and Dr. Gerbarg have provided free consultation, training, and advice on research projects to Serving Those Who Serve (providing support and treatment for members of the 9/11 Community),  the Victim Services Center of Miami, and the International Association for Human Values.

Patricia L. Gerbarg, M.D. is Assistant Clinical Professor in Psychiatry at New York Medical College and has been in private practice for 25 years. She obtained, MD from Harvard Medical School (1975), Psychiatry Residency at Beth Israel Hospital in Boston, and psychoanalytic degree at the Boston Psychoanalytic Society and Institute.

Dr. Gerbarg has lectured on many topics in psychiatry including transference, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), professional ethics, women’s issues, neurobiology, and alternative treatments.  Her research has focused PTSD in survivors of trauma, mass disasters, and military combat.  Her chapter, “Yoga and Neuro-Psychoanalysis.” was published in Bodies in Treatment: The Unspoken Dimension edited by Frances Sommer Anderson (The Analytic Press, 2007).

Philip R. Muskin, MD is Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Chief of Consultation-Liason Psychiatry at New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and chair of the APA Council on Psychosomatic Medicine.  He was the editor of Complementary and Alternative Medicine and Psychiatry, in the APPI Review of Psychiatry series (2000) and co-authored “Complementary and Alternative Treatments in Psychiatry,” in Psychiatry Second and Third Editions (John Wiley & Sons, 2003 and 2008). He is the recipient of numerous awards including the lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for Academic Psychiatry and the Society for Liason Psychiatry Award for outstanding contributions to the field.  He is Past-president of the Association for Academic Psychiatry and the society for Liason Psychiatry.  Dr. Muskin founded a volunteer program to provide emotional support for families of patients in intensive care units and served as a consultant to the Red Cross program for widows and volunteered with the NYPD Stress management Program.

PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER

None of the authors receive financial remuneration for the sale or promotion of any of the products or programs described in this book.  They do receive customary fees for professional lectures.

How To Use Herbs, Nutrients, and Yoga in Mental Health Care (WW Norton, 2009, ISBN 978-0-393-70525-6, hardcover, 6 x 9, 441 pages, US $34.95).  Released January 5, 2009 on Internet bookseller sites (www.wwnorton.com, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and others) and in U.S. bookstores.