A qualitative investigation of Australian psychologists' perceptions about complementary and alternative medicine for use in clinical practice

Abstract

This study explored psychologists' knowledge of, attitude toward, and experience with complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use for clinical purposes. Using a qualitative design, 18 Australian psychologists participated in a semi-structured interview. Psychologists had some understanding about CAM; yet, there was a mismatch between their perceived and actual knowledge. While psychologists were, in general, open toward using CAM with clients they were also sceptical. Attitudes did not overly influence psychologists' views about using CAM in practice, rather adhering to the scientist-practitioner model and embracing a client-centred approach affected their beliefs. Different views emerged as guiding psychologists' use of CAM; however, the codes of conduct played a major role in informing psychologists' use in clinical practice. Psychologists appear open to the idea to use some forms of CAM to enhance client care; yet, they experience unique difficulties such as ethical constraints that may prevent their actual use of CAM for clinical purposes.

“I’ve Only Just Heard About It”: Complementary and Alternative Medicine Knowledge and Educational Needs of Clinical Psychologists in Indonesia

“…CAM, particularly complementary medicine, is an unfamiliar term and was interpreted with various meanings. In line with previous studies in the psychology community in Indonesia [43] and psychologists in Australia [44], participants in this qualitative phase also perceived that CAM has inadequate scientific evidence to support it.…”

“…Time constraints and pressures in PHC, as discussed by participants, might explain why only a few of the participants read scientific journals as their references for CAM. However, the difficulty in finding research published on CAM in psychology journals might illustrate that the mainstream psychology journals have a low acceptance rate for CAM studies, as was found in previous studies [24,44,45]. This phase also discovered that the actions and statements by lecturers and executive members of professional associations may also be used as references, even when not supported by adequate scientific evidence.…”

Exploring differences in psychological professionals' attitudes towards and experiences of complementary therapies in clinical practice

“…Despite its growing popularity, the use of complementary therapies in mental health care is a multifarious topic. A qualitative study by Hamilton and Marietti () explored Australian psychologists' knowledge of and experience with complementary therapies in clinical practice. The study indicated that psychologists, on average, do not consider complementary therapies to be part of conventional medicine and believe there is insufficient evidence to warrant mainstream adoption (Hamilton & Marietti, ).…”

“…A qualitative study by Hamilton and Marietti () explored Australian psychologists' knowledge of and experience with complementary therapies in clinical practice. The study indicated that psychologists, on average, do not consider complementary therapies to be part of conventional medicine and believe there is insufficient evidence to warrant mainstream adoption (Hamilton & Marietti, ). As a consequence, more research on complementary therapies needs to be generated; however, there are some inherent challenges in doing so.…”

“…Empirical research on psychologists' attitudes towards complementary therapies has increased over the past two decades (Hamilton & Marietti, 2017;Wilson & White, 2007). Moreover, recent empirical research suggests an increase in community members' use of complementary therapies.…”