Alternative Medicine and Psychology
If you or a loved one has cancer, you probably have thought about "alternative medicine"
Did you know that a psychologist can help you sort through the maze of approaches and possibIlities?
Did you know that a psychologist can teach you the essentials of mind/body medicine?
Here is a summary of "Psychology and Alternative Medicine". A full length version of these materials may be found in the resources at the end of this article.
What is alternative medicine?
Alternative medicine is a broad term that refers to any type of treatment that is not yet accepted as customary. Alternative medicine is often a shorthand description used for both alternative and complementary treatments. Literally, alternative medicine means "instead of" traditional medical treatment. An example would be if you chose to take shark cartilage instead of having surgery for cancer. Complementary medicine literally means "in addition to" your traditional treatments. An example would be if you decided to learn relaxation techniques to help you cope with your surgery for lung cancer. Generally speaking, complementary medicines are compatible with the traditional treatments recommended by your physician. Psychological interventions are usually considered to be complementary treatments.
Who uses alternative medicine?
If you are open to considering some form of alternative or complementary medicine, rest assured that you are not alone. According to a 1998 report released by the US government, these treatments are among the fastest growing segments of the US health care market. In 1990, 1/3 of the US population used some form of alternative treatment and predictions are that by the year 2010, at least 2/3 of the US population will have participated in these treatments.
A Bit of History
It is helpful for you to understand alternative medicine within an historical context. Traditional U.S. medicine (the kind you are probably receiving) is actually biomedicine - a chemically and technologically oriented medicine that is highly successful in treating infectious disease (i.e. penicillin) . Traditional medicine has not been quite as successful with cancer and other chronic diseases, and so many patients affected with these illnesses have been open to non traditional approaches. Unfortunately, some non traditional or alternative treatments are well respected while others are considered flaky and flimsy. Frequently, there is a lack of scientific evidence making it difficult to evaluate many alternative approaches On the other hand, what is considered to be a fringe treatment today may be a standard treatment within the decade.
The line between traditional and alternative, rather than being solid and wide, tends to be fuzzy and narrow and given to frequent change. Decision making is indeed difficult!
Here are some suggestions to consider in evaluating alternative and complementary treatments:
- An alternative treatment may be a reasonable choice when there is little evidence for the success of the mainstream treatment, when mainstream treatments have been exhausted, or in cases where the side effects of mainstream treatments are felt to significantly destroy the quality of life.
If you are considering using an alternative treatment instead of a mainstream treatment, your thoughts and rationale should be thoroughly discussed with your medical treatment team.
- As in traditional treatment decisions, be sure to obtain at least 2 or 3 opinions about the best alternative treatment options.
Consider asking the following questions:
- What are my chances of being cured with the treatment you are suggesting?
- What are my chances of being cured if I do not use the treatment you are suggesting?
- What is the chance that I will be alive 5 years from now with this treatment?
- What is the chance that I will be alive 5 years from now without this treatment?
- What are the chances that I will have side effects to your treatment? What are these side effects? Are they temporary or permanent?
- Enlist the help of a friend, co-worker, church volunteer, or relative to help you gather the information, sort through the data and interview the practitioners. Consider hiring a university student and paying them an hourly rate to help you with this task.
- If the survival odds are in your favor with a traditional treatment, you may still want to include complementary treatments in the hope that it will help you avoid recurrences. Some examples of such treatments are some forms of vitamin therapy, massage therapy, music therapy, aromatherapy, dietary enhancement, meditation, psychotherapy, stress management, visualizations, support groups and acupuncture.
- Learn about the power of mental medicine
Mental Medicine or mind/body medicine is a way of accessing your mind to help heal your body. Mental medicine includes psychotherapy, support groups, imagery, relaxation, meditation and other forms of mental or psychological activity. Mental medicine has gained increasing support among traditional healers and most professionals believe that the mind can have an effect on the quality of life and even on the course of an illness.
How can a psychologist be helpful if you are considering alternative or complementary treatments?
Psychologists are experts in learning and teaching. Psychologists educate patients who are open to exploring alternative forms of medical treatment but need to be coached in information gathering and communication skills
Psychologists are trained in scientific research and statistical analysis. A significant portion of the training of all psychologists is in the understanding and evaluation of scientific research. A psychologist can help you understand the data from both alternative and traditional treatments, serving as resources for patients who want to take charge of their medical decision-making.
Psychologists are experts in personality assessment. Psychologists can help evaluate individual variables such as risk taking, aesthetic needs, suggestibility, need for authority, need for physician-patient contact, appropriateness of patient support groups, spirituality and need for familiarity and comfort . In cases where there is no "best medical treatment", a psychologist can help identify and match individual preferences with the various alternatives available.
Psychologists are uniquely able to assess, respect and enhance quality of life choices for each individual patient. A psychologist can help a patient mentally prepare for and cope with side effects of treatments including vomiting, mouth sores, sexual functioning, fertility, weight gain, mortality, blood clots and nerve pain. A psychologist can help the patient evaluate their options to include variables such as quality of life as well as life extension.
Psychologists address fears of recurrence as primary psychological issues in post treatment cancer patients. Psychologists understand that the patient who has been treated for cancer typically lives with fears of recurrence. Traditional medicine offers medical monitoring as its only way of addressing this fear. Many patients, therefore, choose to pursue psychological treatments that aim to strengthen the immune system in an effort to decrease the likelihood of recurrence.
Psychologists believe an ongoing, professional relationship can be a key ingredient in helping patient's heal. The Office of Alternative Medicine has stated:
"Throughout history the value of "human" factors in healing has been recognized. These factors included closeness, caring, compassion, and empathy between therapist and patient. Though these factors are theoretically acknowledged by contemporary medicine, they are largely ignored in current practice...
(In describing psychotherapy)... It may be an error to focus on psychotherapy as an adjunctive therapy. Only from a perspective that views doctors as mechanics does psychotherapy become simply a technique. In fact, psychotherapy is the medium and basis of all care. It influences to some degree the efficacy of all health interventions, even those thought to be purely physical in nature."
For further reading see the chapter on Alternative Medicine in Men, Women and Prostate Cancer: A Medical and Psychological Guide for Women and the Men They Love (Drs. Barbara Wainrib and Sandra Haber, in press, New Harbinger Publications). Mental health professionals may request a copy of Dr. Haber's article, "When patients' needs go beyond' traditional' care", American Psychological Association Monitor, May, 1998 (send email note to: askDrHaber@drhaber.com).
