Alternative or Complementary medicine has become increasingly popular over the past decade as a means for dealing with health concerns. Many complementary therapies view health from a holistic perspective and promote the individual's active participation in restoring and maintaining his or her own health. Factors such as lifestyle, behaviors, and psychological well-being are considered important in acheiving this goal.

    Sceptics suggest that these non-orthodox approaches are not effective for dealing with health problems, and may even be harmful in some cases (see this article "Be wary of alternative health methods" for an example of the sceptics' position on CM, and the site Quackwatch.com for more of the same). The antecdotal reports of effective healing with these alternative methods are claimed to be nothing more than placebo effects - over eager patients who want to believe that their health is improving, and naturally occuring improvements mistakenly attributed to these therapies.

    As the debate about the true effectiveness of complemetary medicine continues, researchers are currently taking things to the next level by conducting controlled trials in order to assess the healing claims of these therapies with a more rigorous scientific method.

    Some of these links offer some basic information about some of the different therapies available and how they work. Others are to professional and/or research oriented sites dedicated to investigating alternative medicine. This information is intended for general educational purposes and not as a replacement for medical advice.

INDEX

General Alternative Medicine Links

 

SPECIFIC THERAPIES

Acupuncture/Accupressure	Naturopathy & Iridology
Aromatherapy	Other Bodywork
Biofeedback	Reflexology
Chiropractic	Reiki
Herbal Medicine	Traditional Chinese Medicine
Homeopathy	Yoga
Massage Therapy

Please remember that these links will take you off site, so you will  need to either bookmark this page or use your browser's back button if you wish to return to this page.

General Alternative Medicine Links

• National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM)

• Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine (a peer reviewed journal)

• Alternative Medicine Online

• Alternative Therapies Reference LIbrary

• What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine? (Rosenthal Center article)

• A Guide to Understanding Alternative Medicine (series of articles)

• A Patient's Guide to Choosing Unconventional Therapies (CMAJ article)

• Issues Related to the Use of Unconventional Therapies (Ovarian Cancer Forum paper)

• Health World Alternative Medicine Center

• The Alternative Medicine Homepage

• Complementary Therapies in Nursing & Midwifery (an internationally refereed journal)

• The Wellness Sciences Institute

• Alternative Medicine: Science or Pseudoscience (article on CAM)

• Institute for Traditional Medicine

• Alternative Medicine Review (A peer-reviewed journal)

• The Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, Columbia University (education & research on CAM)

• The Tzu Chi Institute for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (non-profit research & education about CAM)

• HealingPeople.com

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Acupuncture/Accupressure

• Amercian Academy of Medical Acupuncture

• Australian Medical Acupuncture College

• The British Medical Acupuncture Society

• Accupressure.Org

• WHO Viewpoint on Accupuncture

• Clinical Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine(an international peer-reviewed journal)

Aromatherapy

• Centre for Chemosensory Research (University of New South Wales)(focus on the scientific study of the chemical senses of humans and animals)

 
• Essential Oil University (EOU)

• The Guide to Aromatherapy

• International Journal of Aromatherapy (peer-reviewed journal that focuses on the pursuit of health and well-being through aromatherapy treatment)

• The National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy (NAHA)  (an educational, non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing public awareness on the benefits of true aromatherapy)

• The Natural Oils Research Association (NORA) (a non-profit association dedicated to providing education and research of essential oils)

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Biofeedback

• Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB)

• Biofeedback - An Introduction

• The Biofeedback Foundation of Europe (BFE)

Chiropractic

• Canadian Chiropractic Society

• The National College of Chiropractic

• Chirobase: A Skeptical Guide to Chiropractic History, Theories, and Current Practices

• Chiropractic in Canada (official page of the Canadian Chiropractic Association)

• Chiroweb (online chiropractic resources page)

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Herbal Medicine

• The Australian College of Herbal Studies (ACHS)

• Herb Research Foundation (scientific research on herbs)

• Herbal Remedies: Adverse Effects and Drug Interactions (AAFP article)

• MedHerb.com

• The National Institute of Medical Herbologists (NIMH)

• Risky Herbs (an article that outlines some of the possible complications posed by herbs for specific conditions/diseases)

• What You Should Know About Herbal Medications (article from Woman Be Well)

• The Guide to Herbs

Homeopathy

• Homeopathy Online: A Journal of Homeopathic Medicine

• Institute for Research in Homeopathic Information and Symptomology (IRHIS)

• Welcome to Homeopathy - The 21st Century Medicine

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Massage Therapy

• American Massage Therapy Association (AMTA)

• The Massage Therapy Homepage

• The Shiatsu School of Canada

Naturopathy & Iridology

• American Naturopathic Medicine Association (ANMA)

• Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine

• Naturopathic Medicine in the UK

• Iridology and Natural Medicine

• Iridology FAQs

• Iridology.Com

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Other Bodywork

• The Complete Guide to the Alexander Technique

• The Insider's Guide to the Alexander Technique

• Feldenkrais Method (bilingual site featuring info and resources)

• The Rolf Institute of Structural Integration (education and information on Rolfing)

• Touch Research Institute (dedicated to scientifically demonstrating the benefits of touch therapy and establishing its credibility with the medical community)

• The Upledger Institute (educational and clinical resource center specializing in CranioSacral Therapy)

Reflexology

• The Art of Reflexology

• Reflexology Research Project

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Reiki

• The International Center for Reiki Training (non-profit organization for spreading info about Reiki)

• The Reiki Page

• Reiki

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

• Foundation for Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM)

• The Journal of Chinese Medicine

• Traditional Chinese Medicine Guide (from Guang An Men Hospital, Beijing,China)

Yoga

• Yoga Central (online yoga instructions & excercises)

• The American Yoga Foundation

• The Yoga Institute

• Desktop Yoga (animated tutorial of excercises to do while at your desk)

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Originally referred to as unconventional or alternative medicine, this broad spectrum of therapies has been more appropriately called complementary medicine since research has shown that it more often supplements rather than replaces orthodox medicine.

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This page is designed and maintained by Fuschia. M. Sirois, Ph.D., B.Sc.

Department of Psychology, University of Windsor

Last update was September 16, 2003

visitors since Sept. 15, 2003