TY - JOUR
T1 - Management of mental health in Australia
T2 - A critical role for herbalists and naturopaths
AU - McIntyre, Erica
N1 - Imported on 12 Apr 2017 - DigiTool details were: Journal title (773t) = Australian Journal of Herbal Medicine. ISSNs: 2200-3886;
PY - 2016
Y1 - 2016
N2 - Mental health problems are highly prevalent in Australia, with one in five Australian adults experiencing a common mental disorder in the previous 12 months. Many people with mental health problems use complementary medicines, including herbal medicines; however, relatively few of these people consult with herbal medicine practitioners. While naturopaths and herbalists are not integrated within the mental health care system, they have the potential to play an important role in the treatment and prevention of mental illness; however, there are a number of barriers to achieving this. This article outlines the prevalence of common mental illness in Australia, herbal medicine use for mental health, the current mental health care system in Australia, the role of herbal medicine practitioners in managing mental health, the barriers for herbal medicine practitioners to effectively manage mental health, and proposes a way forward to ensure people with mental illness can have access to quality mental health care provided by Western herbalists and naturopaths.
AB - Mental health problems are highly prevalent in Australia, with one in five Australian adults experiencing a common mental disorder in the previous 12 months. Many people with mental health problems use complementary medicines, including herbal medicines; however, relatively few of these people consult with herbal medicine practitioners. While naturopaths and herbalists are not integrated within the mental health care system, they have the potential to play an important role in the treatment and prevention of mental illness; however, there are a number of barriers to achieving this. This article outlines the prevalence of common mental illness in Australia, herbal medicine use for mental health, the current mental health care system in Australia, the role of herbal medicine practitioners in managing mental health, the barriers for herbal medicine practitioners to effectively manage mental health, and proposes a way forward to ensure people with mental illness can have access to quality mental health care provided by Western herbalists and naturopaths.
M3 - Comment/debate
SN - 1033-8330
VL - 28
SP - 69
EP - 72
JO - Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism
JF - Australian Journal of Medical Herbalism
IS - 3
ER -