Alternative therapies are not medical treatments, and nothing in this section recommends using one in place of consulting a doctor. Where a practice has been properly tested and has not outperformed a placebo, the article says so, rather than settling for the usual formula about some people finding it helpful.
That is not the same as dismissing the subject. Several of these practices are genuinely pleasant, and feeling calmer, warmer and less tense is a real benefit rather than a consolation prize — it is simply a different claim from curing an illness. An hour of quiet, and a shoulder that has stopped aching, are worth having on their own terms.
The articles below therefore set out what each practice involves, what it is used for, and what the evidence shows where any exists. Where the honest answer is that something performs no better than doing nothing at all, that is what the page says.
One entry is different in kind from the rest. Cognitive therapy is not an alternative therapy but a mainstream treatment with substantial evidence behind it, and for anyone who has arrived at this section because something is genuinely wrong, it is the entry to read first.
Relaxing is a real benefit. Curing something is a different claim.