Lake, J., W. (2007) Textbook if integrative mental healthcare. New York: Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.
Western medicine has been leading the medical advances in the treatment of mental health for ages, but recently a revision of the of mental healthcare is required, for defining a more compelling and integrative treatment. This is the main substance of James H. Lake’s study – “Textbook of Integrative Mental Health”. The author explains how the western medicine, considered the most advanced healthcare provider due to its technological integration and scientific research, is currently not enough for treating patients suffering of mental problems. Besides, Lake even criticizes the modern medicine for its recent lack of innovation and absence of further consistent development with empirical studies in the area of modern treatment for mental health patients, adjusted to the nowadays needs. To supplement the lack of efficacy of the Western medicine mental healthcare, the author of this book recommends looking more closely to alternative medicine and applying treatment methods not currently considered as orthodox in biomedicine. Lake advises that biological, energetic and spiritual phenomena and practices to be integrated in the mental healthcare process. Including herbal medicines in healthcare is already an emerging practice throughout the world. Moreover, with the visible benefits of therapies based on yoga, Buddhism and other spiritual practices, the author argues that these healing methods are not to be neglected in the treatment of mental illness. These practices are not formally recognized by the Western medicine yet, but the exercises that they comprise, such as breathing sessions or mobility postures, contribute to releasing the negative energy and inhaling positive energy, attitude and thinking, which can influence the mentally ill patients. This book is highly relevant for mental healthcare practitioners, offering a comprehensive view upon nonscientific, but energetic and spiritual healing. Information from this book are relevant for developing the presentation, as it will offer interesting and rich content about the application of other, nonscientific methods in the mental healthcare.
Williams, C., Firn, M., Wharne, S. & MacPherson, R. (2011) Assertive outreach in mental healthcare: current perspectives. West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Sarris, J., Glick, R., Hoenders, R., Duffy, J. & Lake, J (2013) “Integrative mental healthcare White Paper: Establishing a new paradigm through research, education, and clinical guidelines” Advances in Integrative Medicine. No. 2, pp. 1-8.
This study criticizes the effectiveness of the casual institutionalized mental healthcare in the treatment of the mentally ill. The authors indicate that the current medicine cannot face the challenges of the nowadays society, not being able to adjust with medication and treatment to the new mental health needs of people suffering from various forms of mental illness. The writers of this text recommend alternative treatment methods for mental healthcare, indicating their efficiency in curing patients affected by diverse forms of mental illness. This source also emphasizes the positive effects of spiritual and energetic practices, recommending also psychosocial therapies and therapies promoting healthy lifestyles, based on physical exercises, nutritive diets and work-life balance. The study acknowledges that the 21st century world is exposed to various challenges, such as the increased quotidian stress, financial concerns, housing, social or job insecurities, which gathered enhance the mental health problems. The authors indicate that while a lifestyle filled with stress and worries further accentuates them and the related insecurities, it also damages the mental health. The article proposes a series of treatments, as alternatives to pharmacotherapies or institutionalized mental healthcare.
Lifestyle modification or lifestyle medicine, traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, mind-body approaches, complementary and alternative medicine are such recommendations for the mental healthcare. These practices are recommended for Western and non-Western regions, considering the fact that mental illness is a condition that affects population on a global scale. From simple depressions, caused by quotidian worries, people can develop severe mental illnesses if not prevented in time using the above-mentioned treatment methods. Therefore, as the study indicates, the alternative treatment models can be applied both for preventing and for treating the mental illnesses. The authors of this study advance the idea that these alternative mental healthcare practices should be globally instituted, for transforming the mental health worldwide. The integration of these treatments and therapies into the healing process of the mentally disordered individuals appears as a necessity of the current blockage in the mainstream mental healthcare system. The authors of this study see cultural difference and ideological barriers as impediments in the global integration of these treatment models into the conventional mental healthcare. This study is useful for individuals, who want to know how to prevent developing mental disorders, to practitioners, who can recommend alternative practices to their patients and to patients, as well. The article is relevant for the presentation, as it will provide up-to-date information on the advances and applications of alternative treatments for mental health.
