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Child Psychiatry and Human Development

, Volume 18, Issue 3, pp 133–150 | Cite as

Orthomolecular therapy: Its history and applicability to psychiatric disorders

  • Frank J. Menolascino
  • John Y. Donaldson
  • Thomas F. Gallagher
  • Charles J. Golden
  • James E. Wilson
Articles

Abstract

Orthomolecular therapy has had much support and much opposition, and yet there remain a number of professionals and parents who continue the quest for its effective application in the amelioration of psychiatric disorders. The popular press has again been the forum for heated debate between those who debunk its possibilities and those who attest to its operative use. Because the parents of mentally retarded and mentally ill children are particularly vulnerable to the raising or dashing of their hopes against claims being made either way, this paper provides an overview and history of orthomolecular therapy, its application to both mental illness and mental retardation, as well as toxicity considerations relative to megavitamin treatment, in the hope that such information will provide mental health professionals with concise an swers to the challenging questions currently being asked by their patients.

Keywords

Mental Health Health Professional Mental Illness Psychiatric Disorder Social Psychology 
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
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Copyright information

© Human Sciences Press 1988

Authors and Affiliations

  • Frank J. Menolascino
    • 2
  • John Y. Donaldson
    • 2
  • Thomas F. Gallagher
    • 2
  • Charles J. Golden
    • 2
  • James E. Wilson
    • 1
  1. 1.University of Nebraska College of PharmacyOmahaUSA
  2. 2.University of Nebraska Medical CenterOmaha

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