Acupuncture in the Treatment of Psychosis: The Case for Further Research

Item

Title

Acupuncture in the Treatment of Psychosis: The Case for Further Research

Description

EJOM (2006), Harbinson, Dominic.

Abstract

The medical treatment of psychosis continues to be limited, often with severe side effects. This paper sets out to examine the literature available on the treatment of psychosis and schizophrenia with acupuncture, to outline the evidence already available and to highlight the case for research into this treatment approach in the UK. A literature search was carried out using Ovid, Medline, Psych-info, Yahoo, Google and author contact to discover what research has taken place to date. This yielded evidence that acupuncture is effective in the treatment of psychosis. Although most of the research is from China and is somewhat dated, a number of studies have also been conducted in the West with promising outcomes. Given the poor prognosis for schizophrenic patients and the side effects implicit in the chronic use of conventional medication, there would appear to be good grounds for further research into acupuncture as a potential treatment modality. Carrying this out under modern scientific research conditions would help clarify whether and how this treatment might work. However obstacles such as ethics, funding and how such a study might be controlled will have to be overcome.

Alternative Title

EJOM

Creator

Date

Date Created

2/24/2015

Language

English

Source

Subject

Type

Journal Article

issn

1351-6647

issue

2

volume

5

Item sets