Depression and Complementary Health Approaches

Many individuals with depression turn to complementary health approaches as an adjunct to or in place of conventional treatment. Although these approaches are commonly used and readily available in the marketplace, many of them have not been rigorously studied for the treatment of depression. For some approaches, there is uncertainty regarding their efficacy while, for others, the evidence suggests a modest reduction in the symptoms of depression. Some natural products used in this regard (e.g., St. John’s wort) have significant herb-drug interaction concerns. Health care providers should know what complementary approaches their patients are using alone, or in combination with, conventional care. For this reason, it’s important that you understand the benefits and risks of these complementary approaches to advise your patients.