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Complementary and Alternative Medicine Approaches in the Treatment of PTSD

  • Military Mental Health (CH Warner, Section Editor)
  • Published:
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Abstract

Complementary and alternative medicine is a diverse set of practices and treatments that has seen a significant increase among Americans over the past decade. These approaches have been applied to a myriad of medical and mental health disorders with varying levels of efficacy. Recent years have seen an increased interest in the use of complementary and alternative medicine to address the growing numbers of individuals suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and other trauma-related disorders. These approaches include pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic modalities. This article will review some of the most widely used non-pharmacologic complementary and alternative medicine practices used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder such as recreational therapy, animal-assisted therapy, yoga, and acupuncture as well as alternative delivery methods for psychotherapy.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Conflict of Interest

The author declares that he has no competing interests.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

Disclaimer

The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the author and are not to be construed as official or reflecting the views of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, the Department of the Army, or the Department of Defense.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Gary H. Wynn

  2. 4215 Lorcom Lane, Arlington, VA, 22207, USA

    Gary H. Wynn

  3. Center for the Study of Traumatic Stress, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Gary H. Wynn

  4. Neuroscience Program, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD, USA

    Gary H. Wynn

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  1. Gary H. Wynn
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Correspondence to Gary H. Wynn.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Military Mental Health

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Wynn, G.H. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Approaches in the Treatment of PTSD. Curr Psychiatry Rep 17, 62 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0600-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11920-015-0600-2

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