Knowledge and use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine in mental health

The purpose of this study was to investigate practitioner knowledge and use of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) in mental health. Data from the revised Bassman and Ullendahl (2003) Knowledge and Use survey were used to determine the level of knowledge and use of specific CAM modalities among mental health practitioners in the United States. The general hypotheses were that most of the participants will have received cultural competency training within the past 12 months and that the mainstream CAM modalities would be rated higher in knowledge among practitioners. It was concluded that a significant amount of participants had received formal cultural competency training within the past 12 months and the highest reported knowledge was in mainstream CAM modalities. Although these findings appear to indicate a positive trend in practitioner knowledge and use of CAM in mental health, it is recommended that further research be conducted to examine the increasing rate of CAM use and the impact this has on delivering and receiving mental health services.