Building an Evidence Base in Complementary and Integrative Healthcare for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

Definition of Complementary and Integrative Health Care Complementary and integrative health care includes a range of therapeutic approaches.1 The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), defines these health care strategies as “a group of diverse medical and health care systems, practices, and products that are not generally considered part of conventional medicine” (http://nccam.nih.gov/health/whatiscam/).2 Many of these treatments are aimed at promoting health by promoting overall well-being, but some interventions have been examined for their value in treating certain disorders or targeting specific symptoms. Based on the research methodological approaches needed to best study the effects, complementary medicine research falls into 2 basic categories: natural products and mind and body intervention research. Natural product therapies encompass a variety of herbal medicines (botanicals), probiotics, vitamins, minerals, other natural products, as well as diet-based therapies. Mind and body therapies include practices that focus on interactions among the mind/brain, body, and behavior (eg, meditation, biofeedback, deep breathing exercises, guided imagery, progressive relaxation, hypnotherapy, yoga, qi gong, tai chi), as well as approaches that entail procedures on bodily structures or systems performed by a therapist (eg, chiropractic or osteopathic spinal manipulation, massage therapy, acupuncture).