Why Seek Complementary and Alternative Medical Treatment?

There is a really good review of this question by Barry L. Beyerstein here. I'll list a few of his thoughts. It turns out that people with more education seek alternative therapies than those with less education.

it was the realization that shortcomings of perception, reasoning, and memory will often lead us to comforting rather than true conclusions that led the pioneers of modern science to substitute controlled, interpersonal observations and formal logic for the anecdotes and surmise that can so easily lead us astray.

CAM remains, for the most part, “alternative” because its practitioners depend on subjective reckoning and user testimonials rather than scientific research to support what they do. They remain outside the scientific fold because most of their hypothesized mechanisms contradict well-established principles of biology, chemistry or physics.

Beyerstein asks if an unorthodox therapy is implausible on a priori grounds, lacks a scientifically-acceptable rationale of its own, has insufficient supporting evidence derived from adequately controlled outcome research, has failed in well-controlled clinical studies done by impartial evaluators and has been unable to rule out competing explanations for why it might seem to work in uncontrolled settings and should seem improbable, even to the lay person, on “common sense” grounds...why would so many well-educated people continue to sell and purchase such a treatment?

1. The low level of scientific literacy among the public at large. (When consumers haven’t the foggiest idea how bacteria, viruses, prions, oncogenes, carcinogens, and environmental toxins wreak havoc on bodily tissues, shark cartilage, healing crystals, and pulverized tiger penis seem no more magical than the latest breakthrough from the biochemistry lab. )

2. An increase in anti-intellectualism and anti-scientific attitudes riding on the coattails of New Age mysticism. (CAM is permeated with the New Age movement’s magical and subjective view of the universe)

3. Vigorous marketing of extravagant claims by the “alternative” medical community. (Strong profit motives like for Weil and Kabat-Zinn)

4. Inadequate media scrutiny and attacking critics. (you wouldn't want to hurt bidness)

5. Increasing social malaise and mistrust of traditional authority figures-the anti-doctor backlash.

6. The Will to Believe. (We all exhibit a willingness to endorse comforting beliefs )

7. Logical Errors and Lack of a Control Group. (mistaking correlation with causation)

8. Judgmental Shortcomings. (who cares what your research shows, it worked for me)

9. Psychological distortion of reality. (Distortion of perceived reality in the service of strong belief is a common occurrence)

10. Self-serving biases and demand characteristics. (None of us wishes to admit to ourselves or others that we believe foolish things)