Textbook of Integrative Mental Health Care

Conventional treatment in mental health is ‘integrated’ because a multidisciplinary, multitherapeutic approach is often taken. Patients may also be integrating non-conventional treatment into their care, or are interested in doing so. It is the use of non-conventional treatment, alongside conventional Western treatments, that this textbook seeks to cover. Its main aim is to provide both students and professionals with a comprehensive account of integrative mental health care, and the necessary information to devise care plans that include non-conventional assessment and treatment methods.

It is no small task to provide a detailed and accurate picture of the evidence for conventional and non-conventional treatments in this field. The second half of the book attempts this by providing a chapter on assessment and treatment methods for each of the most common mental health difficulties: depression, mania, anxiety, psychosis, dementia and cognitive impairment, substance abuse and dependence, and disturbances of sleep and wakefulness. However, the book goes beyond simple provision of evidence by devoting its first 131 pages to a detailed discussion of the philosophical, methodological and conceptual issues in relation to integrative medicine and psychiatry.

Herein lies the problem: although the book is well organised, it is complex and text-dense, particularly in the early chapters. The information contained in its 374 pages would be better spaced on double that number. Indeed, the first few chapters provide a discourse that would probably be of most interest to academics working specifically in the field of non-conventional treatments for mental health and well-being. With such detailed and complex ideas covered, it is difficult to see the student of psychiatry, psychology or medicine, or the busy clinician, finding the time to give full consideration to these chapters.

The second half of the book is easier to use, and probably of more interest to clinicians. However, only the evidence for non-conventional methods is included in summary tables. I am concerned that those who do not have the time to appraise the earlier chapters of the book, including the sections on the methods used to collate and summarise the evidence, may use these tables for quick reference. In doing so, they may unknowingly misinterpret the evidence, which should be viewed in light of the issues raised in the less accessible chapters of the book.

Overall, the first part of this textbook is more suited to academics than students or clinicians. The inaccessibility of these initial chapters may lead to suboptimal use of the second part of the book. That said, for those specialising in this area, particularly those interested in engaging in philosophical and conceptual thinking, this work is at least thought-provoking. It also provides plenty of references to enable the reader to explore this field further, should they so desire.