Mental Health Without Drugs? Doctors, Scientists Share Latest Research

It is possible to treat mental illness with few or no drugs. Safe Harbor, the worlds leading nonprofit voice for non-drug mental health treatment will host its third annual medical conference in Glendale, California on June 5 and 6, 2004, titled Non-Pharmaceutical Approaches to Mental Disorders." The conference features some of the nation's top experts on safe non-drug treatment for mental illness.

(PRWEB) April 9, 2004 -- At the age of 13, Jane began to tumble into the dark hell called schizophrenia. My early life was mostly a lonely, painful experience. I was an intelligent, motivated human being. I wanted to be successful in life, but I had three careers and many jobs ruined.

I left the mental hospital for the last time in 1978, with an ironclad determination to find out what had ruined my life, beginning another long and painful trip of discovery. After twenty-one more years of difficulties and two more psychotic breakdowns, I finally found two naturopathic physicians, who, since January of 1999, have been treating me for mercury poisoning. I had discovered the real problem. My recovery -- after forty-five years of illness -- has been phenomenal, and at sixty, the depression I didn't know I even had all my life, plus the paranoia, unreal fears, and panic attacks are gone."

What Jane discovered is what has now become the cutting edge of mental health treatment: the premise that most serious mental disorders have a physical basis that can be treated with few or no drugs.

Spearheading the effort to educate the public on this burgeoning field of alternative mental health treatment is Safe Harbor, the worlds leading nonprofit voice for non-drug mental health treatment. On June 5 and 6, 2004 , Safe Harbor is hosting its third annual medical conference in Glendale, California.

Titled Non-Pharmaceutical Approaches to Mental Disorders," the conference features an afternoon with Michael Lesser, M.D., speaking on the nutritional treatment of mental disorders. Dr. Lesser, author of The Brain Chemistry Diet, is one of the nations pioneering psychiatrists on the use of nutrients in mental health.

Speaking on reversing psychiatric symptoms of traumatic brain injury will be David Steenblock, D.O., director of the Brain Therapeutic Medical Clinic of Mission Viejo, California, the first clinic to combine hyperbaric oxygen with a comprehensive program including nutritional therapies, cardiovascular rehabilitation, physical and occupational therapy, biofeedback and neuro-biofeedback, acupuncture, and other approaches to increase the potential for improvement.

Also presenting on detecting and treating medical problems that are common causes of dementia symptoms in the elderly will be Barbara Massey, R.N., program director for G.E.N.E.S.I.S. - a unique community outreach project established under the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health.

Additional offerings include a discussion of homeopathic treatments for anxiety and depression by Randy Martin, Ph.D., author of Optimal Health, How to Get It, How to Keep It; the role of dental problems in mental health, including mercury fillings, root canals, temporo-mandibular joint (TMJ) and related syndromes, by Raymond Silkman, D.D.S.; the holistic approach to mental health through the balance of neurotransmitters, hormones, and nutrition by Peter Muran, M.D, host of the TV show Longevity Healthcare"; EEG biofeedback treatment for depression, anxiety, addiction and other disorders: Victoria L. Ibric, M.D., Ph.D., Director, Therapy & Prevention Center, Pasadena, California; and what the practitioner needs to know about the future of psychiatric drug litigation by Karen Barth Menzies, Esq., drug products liability attorney for the firm of Baum Hedlund.

For more information, visit AlternativeMentalHealth.com or call (323) 257-7338 or email SafeHarborProj@aol.com.