Martin Said:

I need help desiging a clinical trial to test and collect evidence about success or failure of herbal remedies?

We Answered:

First of all you are going to have to determine what results you are measuring (for example, white blood cell counts, blood sugar, blood pressure, LDL cholesterol, lytic index, etc.). Then you are going to have to find a clinic that will work with you to administer the supplement and take the required measurements at designated intervals (which most clinics that are associated with mainstream medicines will refuse to do for fear of repercussions from the drug makers and mainstream medicine). And finally, you will have to have or the money to pay the clinic to screen participants, conduct the trail and likely the money to enroll and compensate the trial participants.

A proper clinical trial would be a "double blind" trial that had two randomly assigned equal groups, one of which would be the study group and the other would be the placebo group and no one would be informed as to which group they were in.

To see an example of a privately funded and designed clinical trial for an herbal supplement, see this one which on the herbal supplement Sutherlandia OPC (which contains 80% oleander extract and 20% Sutherlandia frutescens extract) for HIV/AIDS:

http://www.tbyil.com/HIV_OPC_Trial.pdf

As a final note: Wanting to test natural remedies is admirable and we are much the worse off because there are so many obstacles to doing so, foremost of which is money (and a close second would be the opposition of mainstream medicine to any natural items that would represent competition).

The reason that drug companies do not test herbal items is because natural plants cannot be patented and thus they cannot control them and reap huge profits like they do from their patented synthetics and unique isolates. The idea that the patented versions of a single compound found in a plant are more effective is mostly a myth that has been perpetrated and encouraged for over a century by mainstream medicine to prevent competition from the compounds that are patentable.

Nature works synergistically, just like our bodies do, and more often than not when you isolate a single compound - or worse still make an unnatural synthetic version - you end up with something that is less effective than the natural version which has all the supporting compounds. You also end up with something in a form that is not found in nature and thus likely to have side effects - as is borne out by the fact that over 95% of all approved medications have side effects.

Steven Said:

Is it hard to land a job as a clinical psychologist?

We Answered:

It's not hard to find a job...there are troubled people everywhere. In fact, NIH (National Institutes for Health) has a program that has incentives for psychologists to work in rural and underserved populations, so you can even find jobs in the most rural areas.

You need to go for a doctorate degree- either a PhD or a PsyD. They are very similar, but they have some important "philosophical" differences (PhD is focused more on research and statistics, while PsyD is focused more on practical experience). It takes about 5-7 years after college to get either degree.

Your chances of getting a job afterwards are extremely high. I would check out www.apa.org for more information.

Good luck!!!

Cindy Said:

What are some contributions of psychologists to the understanding of Clinical Depression?

We Answered:

Here:

http://www.psychologyinfo.com/depression…

Psychologists approach depression as a clinical disease, although there is still debate going on about the cause. Its generally thought that a chemical imbalance is to blame, although some traumatic events in life can lead to PTSD and chronic depression. Symptoms include general fatigue, body aches, loss of appetite, and loss of interest in normal daily activities. Treatment includes medication and therapy.

Dianne Said:

what should be in a clinical report?

We Answered:

Why on earth are you asking a bunch of strangers what to write on YOUR patient's chart?

Good God, talk to your supervising doctor if you don't understand.

Clifton Said:

new info on hiv aids.can this be a step closer to a cure?for the rest of the article go to yahoos home page?

We Answered:

So what is your question?