Health Psychology Resources

Alternative Medicine Links

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
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Acupuncture/Accupressure


Aromatherapy

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Biofeedback


Chiropractic

  • Chiroweb (online chiropractic resources page)
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Herbal Medicine

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


Homeopathy

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Massage Therapy


Naturopathy & Iridology

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Other Bodywork

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

Reiki

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)


Yoga

  • 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

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Last update was September 16, 2003


visitors since Sept. 15, 2003

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