Acupuncture in the Treatment of Depression A Manual for Practice and Research

This pioneering book unites both western and traditional Chinese medicine to present a step-by-step methodology for evaluating and treating depression with acupuncture. Using research-oriented trials, it addresses fundamental issues in acupuncture research and offers guidelines for the design of acupuncture treatment studies. Provides guidelines for developing appropriate treatment principles, and selecting and combining the correct acupuncture points Offers clinical guidelines for treating people with depression, including dealing with acute symptoms, assessing the risk of suicide, and when to make a prompt referral Presents case histories, both successfully and unsuccessfully treated Reviews definitions of depression in western psychiatry and psychology, including epidemiology, etiology, differential diagnosis and conventional treatments Describes the causes and progression of depressive symptoms from a Chinese perspective Outlines each specific pattern of imbalance encountered in depression, how to differentiate signs and symptoms according to Traditional Chinese Medicine Gives a comprehensive overview of research issues in acupuncture, outlining advantages and disadvantages of different treatment study design The design and result of the authors' pilot study, funded by the NIH, are given to illustrate a model for acupuncture treatment research.