What Is The Future Of Mental Health?
Updated: Oct 9, 2023
Written by: Dr. Adriana Popescu, Senior Level Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
As the host of the popular podcast Kaleidoscope of Possibilities: Alternative Perspectives on Mental Health, one of my favorite questions to ask guests is about the future of mental health. What is the future of mental health? What would you like to have occur? What else is possible for the future? What can we look forward to seeing in the future?
I am always delighted with the array of perspectives, opportunities, change, and vision that my guests, the leaders, luminaries, and pioneers in the field, have to offer. In their responses to this inquiry about what we can look for in the future, they all speak to the broadening of awareness of the energetic, holistic and “alternative” ways of addressing mental health issues that are beyond traditional western approaches.
I have always been a little bit ahead of my time when it comes to looking at mental health care. This was inspired by my own journey. When I became ill with a mysterious illness that impacted me mentally, emotionally and physically, I sought the traditional realms of care and healing only to find little sustenance or resolution. It was the seeking of a different way to looking at what was occurring with my mind and body that set me on a path to find what actually works to heal the energetic, spiritual and psychological roots of our life conditions. This experience opened me up to a whole world of possibilities beyond what I could imagine and greatly informs my life’s work today.
It has been my great joy and the target of everything I create to share what I have discovered and continue to explore in my private practice, my work in a drug and alcohol rehabilitation facility, in my writing, and with my speaking engagements. It is my desire to bring to the world the greatest, most transformative approaches, techniques, and modalities to address mental health, wellbeing, addiction, and trauma.
So in looking at the future of mental health and speaking with the experts on my show and so many colleagues, I can say we are in a time of great expansion, change and exploration. There is more openness than ever before to look beyond the traditional allopathic paradigm of mental illness and a greater demand than ever for alternatives: energetic, holistic and spiritual that consider the entire being…mind, body and spirit.
In speaking with my friend and colleague TJ Woodward, an expert in the field of addiction and trauma and the creator of Conscious Recovery, he shared his thoughts about how we really have to look at the points of view from which we create our lives to find ourselves. “What would the world look like if we were to literally teach our children you are capable of infinite possibilities – you are a whole and perfect being? What would it create in the world if everybody acknowledged their own inherent wholeness?” TJ goes on to say that, “We want to create a space where the person can access their own inner wisdom and do their own healing.” This perspective shift to an empowered point of view, in my experience, has a profound impact on clients. TJ’s work is being used more and more in rehabilitation centers around the world and we are going to see this incorporated more dynamically in addiction and recovery treatment in the future. Find out more about TJ and his work here.
Dr. Juliet Morgan, an integrative psychiatrist in California who treats the whole person, talked on my show about how “Personalized medicine is going to be the way of the future, it should be happening now. If you are suffering you are deserving of the care that is going to feel really helpful for you.” She also discussed in this episode how she sees medicine as a “team sport” and added that “It’s my job to think about the whole person, the whole body.” Her vision for future is “to bring perspectives from many different forms of healing to my patients.” Yes! Going way beyond what traditional psychiatry has to offer!
Dr. David Smith, one of the great pioneers in the field of addiction and recovery, speaks to the use of psychedelics to unlock trauma and open the door to psychological well-being. “There are many different paths of discovering what works for all of these disorders that we deal with,” and “You have to start using recovery strategies.” He is a big proponent of using Energy Psychology techniques such as Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT), also known as tapping, Brainspotting (a trauma treatment that derives from EMDR), and even the use of psychedelic medicines. “We need to try new approaches,” he says. “We are in the midst of the biggest drug epidemic in U.S. history and the things that we have learned about how to treat addiction should be available to all people who have addictive disorders.”
I am so blessed to know and collaborate with such luminaries in the field of mental health, consciousness, and healing! For the future of mental health, we can look forward to more holistic, integrative approaches that include the wellbeing of the body, mind and spirit. Many of these approaches bring in traditional, cross-cultural perspectives and healing practices. New frontiers are also being explored with technology and frequency medicines, including light, sound, magnetic fields, and more.
These tools are becoming more prolific and accessible than ever before. The courageous voices on my podcast have been the brave pioneers getting new and unique approaches more into the mainstream. If you are open to it, I encourage you to explore and experience these groundbreaking techniques for mental health, self-calming and stress relief. Check out the podcast here, on YouTube and all the usual podcast platforms: kaleidoscopeofpossibilities.podbean.com/ and follow me on my social media to find out more!
Truly, what else is possible with mental health?
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, and visit my website for more info! Read more from Adriana!
Dr. Adriana Popescu, Senior Level Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine Dr. Adriana Popescu is a licensed clinical psychologist and empowerment coach with over 25 years of experience in the mental health field. She specializes in treating addiction, co-occurring disorders, and trauma, and has directed a number of treatment programs in the San Francisco Bay Area. Adriana has a private practice in San Francisco and travels around the world coaching and facilitating transformational and empowering workshops. She coauthored the Conscious Being, Conscious Recovery, and Conscious Creation Workbooks, and she hosts a fascinating podcast called Kaleidoscope of Possibilities – Alternative Perspectives on Mental Health. She loves to empower people to overcome their imagined limitations, release their self-judgments, and discover the brilliance within – creating a life of infinite possibilities.
