White paper

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Integrative mental healthcare White Paper: establishing a new paradigm through research, education, and clinical guidelines

Abstract: Mental illness accounts for about one-third of adult disability globally, reflecting marked societal and personal suffering, and enormous social and economic costs. On a global level, mental healthcare has failed to adequately address urgent unmet needs of the mentally ill. These circumstances call for change in the paradigm and practices of mental healthcare, including fundamental reforms in education, clinician-training, and research priorities. This White Paper outlines current challenges in mental healthcare, and characterizes the emerging field of Integrative Mental Health (IMH), a critical element in the large-scale changes needed to transform mental healthcare in the 21st century. Strategic recommendations for advancing IMH are outlined including increasing research in key areas, improving clinician training and education, and promoting a public health agenda. The field of IMH adopts the bio-psycho-socio-spiritual model, utilizing evidence-based and evidence-guided treatments from both traditional healing systems and modern scientific practices. IMH incorporates mainstream interventions including the judicious use of psychopharmacology and psychosocial therapies, in addition to evidence-based complementary and alternative (CAM) medicines and therapies, and health-promoting lifestyle changes (i.e. enhancement of dietary, exercise, sleep, work/relaxation patterns). The clinical application of IMH takes into account the range of socio-cultural, economic and spiritual considerations affecting mental healthcare practice in different countries. To meet the challenges facing mental healthcare, the International Network of Integrative Mental Health (INIMH: www.INIMH.org) was established in 2010 (officially launched in October 2012) with the objective of creating an international organization consisting of clinicians, researchers, educators, and public health advocates. INIMH was created to advance a global agenda for research, education and the clinical practice of evidence-based integrative mental healthcare. In authoring this White Paper, the board of INIMH is inviting global dialogue on critical issues surrounding mental health care in the hope of achieving integrated, compassionate, individualized, person-centered mental healthcare.