orthomolecular psychiatry

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or·tho·mo·lec·u·lar psy·chi·a·try

an approach to psychiatry that focuses on the use of megavitamins and nutrition in the treatment of such mental illnesses as the schizophrenic disorders.

Farlex Partner Medical Dictionary © Farlex 2012

orthomolecular psychiatry

A non-mainstream field of healthcare consisting of the application of orthomolecular medicine to mental health. Orthomolecular psychiatry attempts to establish a cause of individual symptoms and administer the exact amount of a substance (e.g., a vitamin or mineral) that will allegedly cure the patient.

In 1973, a task force convened by the American Psychiatric Association concluded that niacin monotherapy in patients with chronic schizophrenia and bipolar disorder was completely ineffective.

orthomolecular psychiatry

The study of the impact of natural (e.g., mineral or vitamin) or artificial (e.g., neuroleptic agents) on mental health and mental illness.