
- With Mayo Clinic psychiatrist
David Mrazek, M.D.
read biographyclose windowBiography of
David Mrazek, M.D.
David Mrazek, M.D.
Dr. David A. Mrazek is chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Psychology at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn., and a professor of psychiatry at College of Medicine, Mayo Clinic. Dr. Mrazek has developed a federally funded psychiatric pharmacogenomics research program and implemented clinical psychiatric pharmacogenomics services at Mayo Clinic.
He has received numerous awards including the Award for Creativity in Psychiatric Education from the American College of Psychiatrists and the Agnes Purcell McGavin Award for Distinguished Career Achievement in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry from the American Psychiatric Association. He currently serves as chairman of the board of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology.
Dr. Mrazek has focused his current efforts on using pharmacogenomics testing to improve clinical care. One of his specific goals is to decrease the risks of taking psychiatric medications.
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Depression blog
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April 25, 2009
Alternative medicine treatments for depression
By David Mrazek, M.D.
Alternative medicine is a term that describes alternative approaches to medical issues.
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Over the next few weeks, we will cover several different types of alternative medicine depression treatments. This will not be an exhaustive review of alternative and complementary medicine, but is meant to be a primer on alternative medicine depression treatment. Most importantly, these therapies are not meant to substitute for the treatment plan (taking medications, talk therapy, etc.) you have established with your health care provider. I like the word complement when describing these therapies as they truly complement (or work together) with other depression treatments.
In summary, there is a role for alternative or complementary medicine in the treatment depression, but one should not rely only on alternative or complementary medicine as a depression treatment. There aren't any studies that demonstrate complementary medicine is superior to medications in effectively treating moderate to severe depression. As always, before you begin any new therapy, discuss in detail with your health care provider.

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