Complementary and alternative therapies are being used increasingly to improve mental health. Dissatisfaction with mainstream therapies is driving has resulted in an increasing demand for alternative and complementary therapies to improve people’s mental health. 
 
Health issues are not always straight forward to either diagnose or treat. Wellbeing is complicated being affected not only by a person’s physical circumstances, but also their mindset, environment, and lived activities. Sometimes mainstream health care struggles with understanding just those physical circumstances alone. Complementary therapies are increasingly used to fill gaps in spiritual, social and cultural needs of people who struggle with mental health. 

Also known as CAM (Complementary and Alternative Medicine), there is a distinction between the two:
Complementary therapies are those that work alongside conventional and mainstream medicine.
Alternative therapies are used instead of mainstream medicine.

CAM treatments can include –
Exercise (e.g. Stretching, Walking)
Dietary Management or Changes
Socialisation
Counselling
Ecotherapy
Pet therapy
Horticultural Therapy
Play Therapy
Creative Therapies, such as art therapy and dance therapy
Nutritional Therapy
Medicinal Herbs
Aromatherapy

People with mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression can look for alternative therapies to help improve their mental health.

Here are just some examples –

Equine Assisted Therapy
Equine assisted therapy (also known as EAT) is a growing form of therapy and psychological healing. Through the bond between humans and horses, this form of therapy can include 
Grooming
Leading
Riding
Or even just watching the horses. 

It focuses on building trust, communication, and creating more emotional awareness. It can also help with strengthening coordination and balance. 
Horses are intuitive animals. They can sense human emotions through body language and tone of voice. Allowing them to mirror feelings, this helps individuals to gain an insight into their own emotional states. 

By just being around horses, many people have found that it calms them and makes them feel understood. It can have both physical and mental effect, such as:

Horses don’t judge, helping clients to recognise and manage their own emotions,
Interacting with horses can lower cortisol levels and promote relaxation,
Engaging with such a large and powerful animal helps to build personal confidence,
Riding and grooming horses can also help to enhance core strength, balance, coordination, and motor skills. 

Equine assisted therapy can benefit many different people through wide conditions such as anxiety, depression, PTSD, Behavioural difficulties in children and adolescents and many more. 

Music and Singing Therapy  
Singing and music can often get an emotional response. Making us sad or happy. This is why music and singing therapy can be a useful therapy when supporting people to improve their mental health. 

For example –
Boosting a person’s confidence
Improving motor skills
Reducing anxiety and pain
Improving emotional, cognitive and physical wellbeing.

Singing is good for your mental health as it releases endorphins. In turn these will help in such ways like, to reduce stress hormones.   Singing can be so much more than just a form of enjoyment, it’s a way of helping improve mental help, a form which is used through therapy. It can create memories and create happiness in different ways. 

Play Therapy
Play therapy is not just for children.  Adults and children can enjoy playing, which in turn can improve their mental and physical health.  For example, people with depression Alzheimer's Disease have been found to benefit from play therapy.

Would you like to learn more about CAM Therapies?
Whilst CAM therapies should not replace mainstream treatments, they can be a useful way to improve a person’s mental health.  

Do you already work in mental health and would like to try new techniques to support people who are struggling with their mental health?
Or are you looking to start a new career helping people with their mental health?
Or perhaps you are looking for ways to improve your own mental health?

Consider some of our CAM therapy courses?
Aromatherapy
Ecotherapy
Pet therapy
Creative Therapies, such as art therapy and dance therapy
Nutritional Therapy
Medicinal Herbs
Horticultural Therapy
Play Therapy

Or contact us for more information on admin@acs.edu.au