Citation

Baber M. Lancet Psychiatry 2024; 11(8): e587.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2024, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/S2215-0366(24)00168-8

PMID

39025626

Abstract

In their Comment in The Lancet Psychiatry, Helene Speyer and Jim van Os were right to question whether the scientific scrutiny of every aspect of human existence is a rational approach to improving mental health care.1 In an ideal world, it would be widely recognised that a range of factors influence mental health. These factors can have positive and negative effects on mental health, including deprivation due to poverty and child maltreatment, both significant preventable risk factors for mental ill-health,2 to potentially protective effects on mental wellbeing such as physical activity,3 a healthy diet, unstructured play in childhood,4 spirituality, expressive arts, social interaction, and time spent in nature.
Unfortunately, politicians, pressure groups, and the media have tended to see mental health from a one-dimensional perspective focused on medical diagnosis and treatment. For example, in the UK, the Conservative government has focused on increasing the number of Mental Health Support Teams, while the Labour party's flagship mental health policy is to recruit an additional 8500 mental health staff. To encourage a more preventative and holistic approach, randomised controlled trials, such as the one conducted by Sebastian Wolf and colleagues,5 are necessary to complement the current medicalised approach to mental health care.

Language: en

Keywords

Humans; *Mental Health; *Mental Disorders/therapy/psychology