Review of Mental Health,Naturally: The Family Guide to Holistic Care for a Healthy Mind and Body

Author: Kathi Kemper, MD, MPH, FAAP

Elk Grove Village, IL: American Academy of Pediatrics, 2010, 500 pages, ISBN: 13:978-1-5110-310-6, $19.95.

H as anyone noticed how our integrative/complementary and alternative medicine field tends to focus on a different theme every couple of years, such as food as medicine, public policy, or environmental issues? It now appears that 2010 is the year of mental health, with at least three major conferences on the docket and a number of new books dedicated to natural approaches for not only anxiety and depression, but afflictions such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorders as well.

Mental Health, Naturally: The Family Guide to Holistic Care for a Healthy Mind and Body, by Kathi Kemper, MD, MPH, Chair for the Center for Integrative Medicine at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, comprises 500 pages of text followed by 100 more listing resources and references, not to mention a hefty index. I have been an admirer of Kemper for some time, and am frequently affected by the stresses of clinical duties, literary deadlines, and personal responsibilities. So it was with more than usual interest that I opened the front cover and began to read.

The first issue an author addresses is who is to be the intended audience; in this particular case the answer appears to be everyone. The practicing health professional will discover the breadth of information to be encyclopedic (with some challenges to be discussed a bit later), while the casual lay reader will appreciate the simplicity of language and intuitive organization of material. In her introduction, Kemper advises us to feel free to pick and choose pertinent chapters rather than read from front to back, and her style of writing indeed allows for this strategy without sacrificing clarity or comprehension. Coherency is consistent from chapter to chapter, whether describing the pathophysiology of a disease process or suggesting an appropriate therapeutic approach. In other words, this is an easy read, a refreshing find in a world of information overload.

The book has four basic sections, beginning with the requisite Introduction: Challenges and Goals. This is followed by Fundamental Strategies (perhaps the segment most useful to the practicing clinician), Beyond Fundamentals: Additional Help, and finally Putting It All Together. I appreciate the fact that the first therapeutic fundamental mentioned is not a botanical, or acupuncture, or even talk therapy, but good old physical activity and exercise, followed by discussions on the benefits of sleep, nutrition, and dietary supplements. Managing stress through emotional, mental, and spiritual practices, attention to communication skills, and the need for healthy community round out the Fundamental Strategies section. Therapeutic modalities such as botanicals, massage, homeopathy, acupuncture, chiropractic, osteopathy, and other familiar approaches are relegated to Beyond Fundamentals: Additional Help, as they should be. The Putting It All Together section covers the broader realms of ADHD, anxiety, depression, and public advocacy.

Most of the chapters are introduced with illustrative though fictional case studies that resurface from time to time to remind the reader of the clinical relevance of the discussion at hand, although this approach is oriented more toward the lay reader than the health care practitioner. There are also charts, lists, sidebars, and bullet points galore, with every pathology and therapy thoroughly referenced. In addition, the exercise, nutrition, stress, and communication sections have small workbook areas for those motivated to explore their own personal issues and chart their progress.

So beyond the book's organization and structure, how does it fare as an actual resource? The answer depends upon who is the reader de jour. As a clinician, I found it a bit difficult to focus in on any one specific piece of information, primarily due to the plethora of information. Also, the conversational style, while a relaxing read, requires significant skimming if one is impatient for a quick answer to a question. The key point is that this is not a book written specifically for clinicians; it is, after all, the Family Guide to Holistic Care for a Healthy Mind and Body. In this respect, it shines as a resource. Kemper's writing style is friendly and colloquial rather than pedagogic, and there is clearly a sense of personal caring infused into each chapter, which is, of course, central to the definition of “holistic.” The book is more a narrative on mental health than catalogue of facts, and I recommend that health care professionals consider having this paperback on the bedroom nightstand rather than next to Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine in the office. But perhaps it should be in the office as well—prominently displayed in the waiting room to tempt the patient into buying one of his or her own.