Complementary & Alternative Medicine (CAM)
Health practices used outside conventional medicine, sometimes alongside medical treatment.
What is Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM)?
A system of healing including acupuncture, herbal medicine, and qi balance.
What is Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)?
Therapies focused on musculoskeletal alignment and manipulation of the body.
What are chiropractic and osteopathic medicine?
Practices that use the connection between mental and physical processes to improve health.
What are mind–body therapies?
Even standard or conventional medicine recognizes the power of the connection between mind and body. Studies have found that people heal better if they have good emotional and mental health.
What are mind therapies?
Complementary is used WITH conventional medicine; alternative is used INSTEAD of it.
What is the difference between complementary and alternative medicine?
A traditional Indian system emphasizing balance of body, mind, and spirit using diet, herbs, and lifestyle practices.
What is Ayurveda?
Manipulation of soft tissue to reduce pain, stress, and muscle tension.
What is massage therapy?
Meditation, mindfulness, guided imagery, or relaxation techniques.
What are examples of mind-body therapy?
A mainstream mental health approach often coupled with other CAM techniques to treatment mental health conditions.
What is psychotherapy?
Examples include Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, and Indigenous healing systems.
What is an example of traditional alternative medicine systems?
A practice of inserting thin needles into specific body points to influence energy flow and relieve symptoms.
What is acupuncture?
Structured practices that combine movement and healing principles.
What are body movement therapies?
A slow, flowing movement practice that improves balance, stress regulation, and physical strength.
What is Tai Chi?
Technique used to help you take control of certain involuntary bodily functions, like your heart rate and breathing. There are several types of biofeedback therapy. It can help manage conditions like chronic pain, anxiety and incontinence.
What is bio-feedback?
Symptom relief, dissatisfaction with conventional care, desire for control, cultural beliefs, or holistic care.
What are some reasons individuals with chronic illness seek CAM therapies?
They reflect cultural beliefs and influence health decisions.
Why are traditional systems important in social work practice?
Yoga and Tai Chi.
What are examples of body movement therapy?
A practice combining physical postures, breathing, and mindfulness.
What is yoga?
Uses focused attention, guided imagery, and verbal suggestions to induce a deeply relaxed state for treating conditions like pain, anxiety, and sleep disorders
What is hypnosis?
Treats the whole person, not just the disease by combining conventional treatments with complementary therapies that have scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness.
What is Integrative Medicine?
Includes the more mainstream and accepted forms of therapy, such as acupuncture, homeopathy, and Oriental practices. These therapies have been practiced for centuries worldwide.
What are Traditional Alternative Medicines?
Healing by touch is based on the idea that illness or injury in one area of the body can affect all parts of the body. If, with manual manipulation, the other parts can be brought back to optimum health, the body can fully focus on healing at the site of injury or illness.
What is Body Based Therapy?
Healing approaches that focus on manipulating energy fields, such as Reiki or therapeutic touch. Belief that energies from objects or other sources directly affect a person's health.
What are external energy therapies?
Art, dance, music, visualization and guided imagery incorporate the senses for healing and therapy.
What are creative art therapies?