Development of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) education for clinical psychologists: An example from Indonesia

Abstract

The inclusion of education about complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) into health education has occurred among the conventional health professions, but not for clinical psychologists. Clinical psychologists, as health professionals, need to have CAM knowledge in order to provide psychoeducation about CAM to their clients based on the latest scientific research. This novel cross-sectional research aimed to explore CAM-related educational needs among Indonesian clinical psychologists based on their knowledge of CAM and attitude towards knowledge of CAM. The participants were 318 clinical psychologists (Mage = 33.94 years, SD = 8.21; 87.7% females) who completed an online survey. In general, participants self-reported a lack of CAM knowledge. CAM education, especially in regards to the risks of CAM use, was strongly needed in psychology curricula and its continuing education. Findings of this study show that professional psychology associations may need to regulate CAM integration in psychological services; and educational institutions teaching psychology may consider delivering CAM education using experiential learning methods. Asian nations could consider the recommendations in this study due to their similarity with Indonesian culture and history of education within the field of psychology.