RSS
Readers are already using and appreciating the new Complementary and Alternative Medicine in Psychiatry: A Fact Book (2026) by Chris Aiken, MD. He's given us a peek into his process for creating the new resource covering 67 natural therapies in psychiatry. The origin story is worth reading.
It begins on a farm in Bali.
Dr. Aiken built the book by hand with a spreadsheet tallying 1,796 placebo-controlled trials across 67 CAM therapies, which is now the book's massive reference list (free to view here). Each psychiatric use rated confirmed, probable, or possible according to the size and the results of the trials behind it. He reviewed risks, interactions, and mechanisms, and went to the independent testing labs, ConsumerLab, NSF International, Labdoor, and the US Pharmacopeia, before recommending any product.
The final book was carefully reviewed by Richard Brown, MD, and the Carlat editorial staff. Now it's available for you.
Dr. Aiken is also direct about where he stands. He writes that he has no particular interest in complementary medicine as such. This isn't a pro-CAM or anti-CAM project. He cares what works for patients, which is why the book leads with trial evidence rather than with promising theory, and why the closing chapters are given over to the therapies best left in the ground.
Start with a confirmed treatment for a single disorder. For a patient with several problems at once, a probable-evidence option that covers more than one target may be the better choice.
Dr. Aiken’s practical rule, with examples: omega-3s for irritability, ADHD, acne, and triglycerides; saffron for depression, insomnia, and sexual dysfunction; probiotics for autism, anxiety, obesity, and IBS.
See for Yourself
All 1,796 citations, free → Every reference behind every grade, published before the book shipped.
Free sample pages (PDF) → Table of contents, the fact sheet format, and a sample chapter.
Order the fact book → 190 pages, 67 treatments, 8 CME credits. Pre-order print and the PDF/eBook and post-test open immediately.
