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My personal experience with depression and anxiety six years ago led me to an acupuncturist almost by accident. I never would have considered it if a trusted friend hadn't pushed me to try it. After what proved be a profoundly healing experience, two years later I began a program of study to become a licensed acupuncturist myself. What drove me to redirect the course of my career was what I saw as the profound potential of an integrative model of healthcare that might one day enable consumers to incorporate the best of "alternative" and conventional medicine. I envisioned a day when people with psychiatric disabilities would have access to treatment options that tended to body, mind and soul, and that these therapies would exist hand in hand with conventional psychiatric treatment.

"Integrative medicine" is a slowly emerging paradigm that is beginning to take root in the United States. Contrary to the idea that "alternative" medicine is for people who reject western medicine, "integrative" medicine presents us with a model in which western medicine and the best of alternative treatment modalities are integrated and coordinated. Today, such highly esteemed medical institutions as the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Beth Israel Medical Center have centers offering integrative services such as acupuncture and other touch therapies, nutrition counseling, herbs and supplements as well as yoga and meditation classes to people who can pay for them out of pocket.

In my research on complementary and alternative therapies, study after study reveals that chronic anxiety and depression are among the most common problems for which people seek out alternative therapies. These studies indicate that consumers of alternative therapies are more likely to use them to complement their conventional medical care. Most importantly, these studies reveal that users of alternative therapies perceive them as highly beneficial.

In one such widely cited study reported in the American Journal of Psychiatry in February, 2001, a nationwide survey of 2,055 respondents revealed that over 50% of those who suffered from self-reported anxiety attacks and/or severe depression used complementary therapies to treat these conditions. In addition, this study noted that the majority of individuals who utilize these therapies also use conventional psychiatric treatment, dispelling the concern that alternative treatment use may encourage non-adherence with conventional psychiatric treatment. More recently, researchers from the Center for Psychiatric Rehabilitation at Boston University did an exploratory study on the perceived benefits of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) among 157 surveyed individuals with diagnoses of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression who use such therapies. Reported in the October 2002 issue of the American Journal of Public Health, the study noted that CAM use is increasing among consumers with serious mental illness, and that respondents stated that therapies such as meditation, massage, supplements, yoga and acupuncture "promoted recovery by enhancing social, spiritual, general and self-functioning."

The studies that I have cited above and others have also noted the demographics of CAM users: they have higher incomes than the national average. This is no surprise. After all, even a $15.00 yoga class once a week is out of reach for most people on a low, fixed income. Alternative therapies are generally available only on the open market and they are simply inaccessible to mental health recipients on SSI. If consumers are to truly have access to the kinds of alternative therapies they want, these therapies would need to be incorporated into existing programs. This is not an expensive proposition and in fact may reduce health care costs because alternative therapies emphasize healthier lifestyles, which promote health. As readers may know, acupuncture is now a standard treatment in many substance abuse treatment programs in New York State. As research emerges revealing the efficacy of alterative therapies on psychiatric symptoms, our evidence-based mental health system will be more inclined to respond programmatically.

I look forward to reporting these research findings to the New York City Voices community as I learn about them. It is my hope that by bringing these findings to light, we will begin to educate consumers and providers, and challenge government officials to incorporate evidence-based alternative therapies into our current mental health treatment programs.