Integrative Mental Health

The conventional Western classification systems of health conditions are based on flawed science shaped by reductionist, hierarchical, and profit-driven ideologies. THEN wants to create a new paradigm built upon principles drawn from systems science, the life course perspective, developmental neurobiology, and other evidence-informed studies.

Researchers examine the transformation of work, life, and identity in India as a result of Western corporate and psychological culture.

Hearing Voices Network self-help groups are an important resource for coping with voice hearing, study finds.

Pictures are worth a thousand words. So I’ve chosen pictures to distill the mountain of mental health research I’ve examined over the last eight years. Three infographics summarize research on psychiatric drugs, and one asserts why I think Integrative Mental Health is the best path available for mental health recovery.

A new study in JAMA Psychiatry found that transcranial magnetic stimulation was no better than placebo for treatment-resistant depression.

Study reports on the less-examined findings of difficult and painful meditation-related experiences.

Study finds that traditional healers in South Africa, whose services are widely used by the country’s population, perform important suicide prevention work.

A new randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial has found bright light therapy to be a powerful intervention that could provide an alternative to medication for people with “bipolar depression.”

In a new report, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to health, Dr. Dainius Pūras, calls for a move away from the biomedical model and “excessive use of psychotropic medicines.”

Utilizing Maslow’s published books and essays, psychologist William Compton delineates common myths and attempts to respond to them.

Last Tuesday, The New York Times and several other outlets (including Mad In America) reported on the highly-touted results of a study on psychosocial treatment for patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Now, claims made about the study, which the ‘Times called “the most rigorous trial to date,” are coming under increased scrutiny.

Relational therapy can be informed by the intersubjective dynamics observed in early childhood to facilitate the development of healthy relational patterns and a strong sense of self.

"There is a need of a shift in investments in mental health, from focusing on 'chemical imbalances' to focusing on 'power imbalances' and inequalities"

A review published in Mayo Clinic Proceedings used U.S.-based clinical trial evidence to examine the efficacy of complementary health approaches for chronic pain management....

New research examines important factors of adherence when prescribing exercise to treat depression.

The bidirectional relationship between diet and nutrition and social, emotional, and educational factors among European youth.

How does social network site use influence well-being? Researchers suggest this depends on the extent to which site use is “connection-promoting."

Can a renewed biopsychosocial approach, grounded in an updated philosophy, foster person-centered medicine, and psychiatry?

A new study has found that of 10 people who were fully recovered from their first episode of schizophrenia (FES), those not taking antipsychotics did better in terms of cognitive, social, and role functioning—and reached full recovery more quickly.

For the last six years we, a group of researchers, social work students, peer experts, and social professionals associated with the Amsterdam University for Applied Sciences, have been studying and facilitating the development of self-managed programs in homelessness and mental health care in the Netherlands. With our research we want to contribute to the development of new and existing programs through critical reflection. With this blog, I hope to share some of our findings, to give back to the respites from which we learned so much.

A new study finds that emotions may be represented by 27 categories, with each category relating to others in a more complex and continuous fashion than previously understood.

Researchers find that yoga and controlled breathing reduced symptoms in individuals diagnosed with depression.

Men who report being self-reliant may be at greater risk of suicidal thinking.

A new article examines the usefulness of the ADHD diagnosis and suggests alternatives

A new study explores the benefits of a befriending program in the recovery of those with “enduring mental illness.”