The C.A.M. Report
Complementary and Alternative Medicine: Fair, Balanced, and to the Point

Archive for the 'Mindfulness' Category

Results of nonpharmacological approaches to treating pain

Tuesday, January 1st, 2013

Researchers at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, in Chicago evaluated the effectiveness of an inpatient integrative medicine consult service for pain management. (more…)

Complementary treatments for osteoarthritis

Sunday, February 5th, 2012

Former Medical Director, of the Rosenthal Center for Complementary & Alternative Medicine, at Columbia University Medical Center, in New York City, Dr. James Dillard, reviewed the evidence.

Here’s what we know. (more…)

Contribution of mindfulness in rheumatic joint disease

Friday, December 23rd, 2011

Researchers at Diakonhjemmet Hospital, in Oslo, Norway, evaluated the effects of a mindfulness-based group training in adults with inflammatory rheumatic joint diseases. (more…)

Comparing mindfulness and cognitive behavioral therapy

Sunday, November 27th, 2011

In the past few years this weblog has published dozens of entries on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Therefore, it’s a good time to define and distinguish between these psychological treatment options.

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Reducing marijuana use among young women

Wednesday, September 28th, 2011

Researchers in Rhode Island studied the value of motivational interviewing + mindfulness meditation. (more…)

Mindfulness training for smoking cessation: short-term results

Monday, September 19th, 2011

Researchers at Yale University School of Medicine, in New Haven, Connecticut, conducted a study of mindfulness training for smoking cessation. (more…)

CAM for major depressive therapy

Friday, April 15th, 2011

The American Psychiatric Association’s Task Force on Complementary and Alternative Medicine reviewed the evidence and report their findings.

Here are their findings. (more…)

CAM (not St John’s wort) to treat depression

Tuesday, April 12th, 2011

Researchers at Goulds Naturopathica, in Hobart TAS, Australia, reviewed the evidence. (more…)

Effects of meditation on alexithymia and social skills

Wednesday, February 9th, 2011

Alexithymia is the inability to describe emotions in a verbal manner. Alexithymia is likely to be involved in the pain experience of cancer patients.

Researchers at the Universidad de Almería, in Spain, report their preliminary findings using meditation (mindfulness). (more…)

Mindfulness, as good as antidepressants for depression

Friday, December 10th, 2010

That’s the conclusion from this study at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, in Ontario. (more…)

Mindfulness meditation for substance abuse

Friday, December 10th, 2010

meditationRelapse is common in substance use disorders, even among treated individuals.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin, in Madison reviewed the evidence supporting mindfulness meditation. (more…)

Mindfulness to manage child abuse survivors

Thursday, October 7th, 2010

The results warrant further investigation, according to researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, in Baltimore. (more…)

Complementary therapies for patients with leukemia

Monday, July 5th, 2010

little guyThe Integrative Medicine Service, at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, in New York City offers their perspective. (more…)

The effect of mindfulness on smoking cessation

Sunday, February 21st, 2010

Smoking cessation is a major life stressor that has many consequences, including persistent negative affect.

Researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, in Houston report their findings. (more…)

What we know about mindfulness meditation in substance use disorders

Wednesday, January 20th, 2010

Substance use disorders refer to conditions arising from the abuse of alcohol and psychoactive drugs.

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin in Madison reviewed the existing evidence for using mindfulness meditation — the practice of directing your full attention to the present. (more…)

The role of CAM to treat anxiety and depression

Saturday, October 18th, 2008

Here’s a review of the evidence by researchers at the University of Western Australia in Perth. (more…)

Might mindfulness reduce the severity of hot flashes?

Sunday, June 29th, 2008

Preliminary evidence supports the feasibility of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) in women experiencing severe hot flashes, according to researchers at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. (more…)

Pain management during labor: Is there a role for CAM?

Tuesday, June 24th, 2008

Actually, it hasn’t been studied very much.

But here’s what we know so far.

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Using guided imagery to treat recurrent stomach pain in kids

Friday, June 20th, 2008

I was surprised to read it, but “one of the more common chronic pain syndromes in children is recurrent abdominal pain (RAP) — thought to affect 10% to 30% of all school-aged children.”

The results of this study show that “the response to guided imagery in.. children with RAP was rapid, sustained, clinically effective, and not associated with any apparent side effects.”

Let’s learn more.
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Giving equal time to CAM options to manage stress

Friday, May 16th, 2008

An article published on Medscape discusses the impact of stress on insomnia. In addition to a brief mention of mindfulness, the author limits the discussion to benzodiazepines or ramelteon (Rozerem), which acts on melatonin receptors.

There are so many other options that the author fails to even mention. So, I’ll mention them here. (more…)