Understanding Of Mental Illness Research Articles

Sufistic Self-healing: The Intersection of Sufism and Psychology

Humans always desire to know themselves, know the world around them, and know their place in the world. This search has taken humanity from religious dogmas to philosophical discourse and the empirical sciences. Although human civilization has progressed in various alternatives for understanding the self about nature, the answers remain elusive. Spirituality, whether related to a particular religion or another, has been practiced for a long time and is claimed to provide answers to “unresolved doubts” (S. Haque Nizamie, et al, 2013). In recent years, there has been an increase in interest in spirituality, and advances in neuroscience have provided an opening to understand it from a more scientific viewpoint and place it in the proper perspective. In various cultures, spirituality is an important part of the belief system of the majority of society. This affects mental well-being and understanding of mental illness in terms of etiology, meaning, and self-healing modalities. It seems important for mental health professionals to be aware of how spirituality influences the mental well-being of individuals in both health and illness. This paper will outline the basic foundations of Sufism, how Sufism affects the mental well-being of individuals associated with it, and its relationship with psychology.

Otherness and stigma: The public understanding of what mental illness is moderates the association of continuum beliefs and social acceptance

Belief in a continuum of symptoms from mental health to mental illness (MI) has an impact on the social acceptance of people with MI. However, little is known about whether people's conception of MI itself and in particular how broad that conception is, has an impact on the social acceptance of individuals with MI or affects continuum beliefs. To address this research gap, it is necessary to capture and monitor public understanding of MI. Using 17 different statements that describe behaviors on a spectrum from mentally healthy to ambiguous to indicative of MI, we examine how the German public conceptualizes MI. Specifically, we develop a measure to capture the breadth of an individual's conception of MI. We find that a broader concept of MI is associated with greater social acceptability. In addition, we show that continuum beliefs and the breadth of the concept of MI interact – continuum beliefs are especially important for stigma reduction when individuals have a narrow concept of MI. For future research, this finding implies that with regard to social acceptance of people with MI, individuals with a narrow concept benefit from continuum interventions in particular.

Required elements for an educational programme for lay exercise instructors in charge of community-based exercise targeting young adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders – A stakeholder focus group study

BackgroundExercise plays a crucial role in addressing the increased cardiometabolic morbidity and premature mortality in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. When delivered in community-based settings, exercise may also reduce loneliness, while promoting overall physical activity behaviours. Skilled instructors are essential to deliver effective community-based exercise; however, knowledge about their roles and required training is lacking. We aim to explore various stakeholders’ perspectives regarding lay exercise instructors’ roles, and the required elements in an educational programme supporting the delivery of community-based exercise for young adults with SSD.MethodsWe used semi-structured homogeneous focus groups with representatives from different stakeholder groups (i.e., including representatives of clinical staff within mental health, physiotherapists, exercise instructors, young adults with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and relatives of individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders) targeted or affected by a community-based exercise intervention. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis.ResultsWe conducted six focus groups comprising a total of 30 individuals representing five different stakeholder groups The analysis identified three categories: (i) awareness and understanding of mental illness, i.e., providing basic knowledge to dispel common myths and stigma regarding mental illness (ii) protecting youth identity, i.e., supporting the feeling of being more than just a patient, and (iii) promoting exercise as a shared activity, i.e., a communal pursuit, fostering personal growth among participants, their peers and the instructors.ConclusionsAn educational programme for lay exercise instructors delivering community-based exercise targeting young adults with SSD should empower the instructors to assume the role of guardians of an inclusive exercise culture. Educational elements identified were adapted and integrated into an educational programme implemented and evaluated as a part of the Vega trial. Our results may be transferable to the education of lay workers in mental health care where the aim is to facilitate sustainable, recreational, community-based activities.

Exploring mental health literacy among prospective university students using GIS techniques in Bangladesh: an exploratory study.

Prospective university students experience substantial academic stressors and psychological vulnerabilities, yet their mental health literacy (MHL) remains inadequately explored. This study investigates four dimensions of MHL - help-seeking behaviors, stigma, knowledge about mental health and understanding of mental illnesses. Besides, Geographic Information System (GIS) techniques are employed to analyze spatial disparities in MHL, which is the first in the context of MHL research. A total of 1,485 students were assessed for sociodemographic characteristics, admission-related variables, health behaviors and family histories of mental health issues. Data were analyzed using SPSS and ArcGIS software. Multivariable linear regression analyses unveiled predictors of the MHL dimensions, with gender, family income, admission test performance, smoking, alcohol and drug use, physical and mental health history, current depression or anxiety and family history of mental health and suicide incidents emerging as common predictors. GIS analysis unraveled notable regional disparities in MHL, particularly in knowledge of mental health and mental illness, with northern and some southern districts displaying higher literacy levels. In conclusion, these findings accentuate significant gender and sociodemographic inequalities in MHL among prospective university students, highlighting the imperative for targeted interventions to enhance MHL and foster mental well-being in this cohort.

Enactivist music therapy: Toward theoretical innovation and integration

ABSTRACT Introduction Music therapy research has traditionally been somewhat fragmented into different research traditions. This paper argues that the burgeoning field of enactivism could provide important theoretical integration to music therapy research and practice. Stressing the interdependence of mind, brain, body, and environment, enactivism has provided theoretical integration in several fields, not least music cognition and psychiatry. This paper is the first focused theoretical contribution that applies relevant enactivist theory to music therapy. Methods After a reflection on theoretical developments in music therapy, we provide a general introduction to enactivism and its multiple origins in human and biological sciences and present its existing contributions to understanding mental illness and musicking. We also make a specific contribution, through discussion of an example of free music improvisation. Results Providing an enactive analysis of the sense of agency in this practice, we argue that music improvisation, especially in therapy, might work particularly well for people with severe mental illness because improvisation strengthens and flexes the disturbed sense of agency that often characterizes such mental health challenges. Discussion Finally, we discuss strengths and weaknesses of the proposed framework and suggest future potential studies to better evaluate the potential contribution of enactivism to the research and practice of music therapy.

Getting Past a Crisis Mentality

Abstract This opinion piece advocates for literature courses that examine the United States’ mental health crisis from the perspective of neurodiverse writers. This is not a short-term solution to the crisis, but over time courses can have a powerful impact on students’ attitudes toward and understanding of mental illness. Courses engaging in this work will advance the cause of social justice and the full inclusion of neurodiverse students and faculty in our classrooms and on our campuses.

Some notes on the phenomenology of psychological disorders: from the birth of Freudian psychoanalysis to the possible contribution of multiple etiopathogenic factors

ABSTRACT In this contribution, the author explores the shift from viewing psychological issues as ‘psychic pathology’ to adopting a perspective of ‘pathological psychology’. This transition underscores the need to consider the intricate interplay between individual and environmental factors in the development of psychological disorders. The author emphasizes the importance of understanding mental illness as a result of complex interactions and disruptions in equilibrium. Alongside neurobiological influences, life experiences and the environment also wield a pivotal role. A clinical case of a four-session-a week psychoanalysis illustrates the significance of the environment. This case highlights how the interplay between internal and relational-environmental factors is crucial not only in understanding symptoms but also in the interpretive process.

Service users' perceptions of recovery from recent-onset psychosis and their long journey to and through psychiatric treatment.

A growing body of evidence highlights that individuals' understanding of mental illness and recovery influences their mental health care preferences. Journeys to psychiatric care settings vary across regions with different socio-economic and developmental characteristics. However, these journeys in low-income African countries have not been well explored. This descriptive qualitative study aimed to describe service users' journeys to and through psychiatric treatment and explore their conceptualizations of recovery from recent-onset psychosis. Nineteen adults with recent-onset psychosis were recruited from three hospitals in Ethiopia for an individual semi-structured interview. Data from in-depth face-to-face interviews were transcribed and thematically analysed. Participants' conceptualizations of recovery are summarized into four themes; "domination over the disturbance of psychosis", "complete medical treatment course and stay normal", "stay active in life with optimal functioning", and "reconcile with the new reality and rebuild hope and life". These perceptions of recovery were reflected in their accounts of the long and hurdled journey to and through conventional psychiatric care settings. Participants' perceptions of psychotic illness, treatment, and recovery seemed to result in delayed or limited care in conventional treatment settings. Misunderstandings about only requiring a limited period/course of treatment for a full and permanent recovery should be addressed. Clinicians should work alongside traditional beliefs about psychosis to maximize engagement and promote recovery. Integrating conventional psychiatric treatment with spiritual/traditional healing services may make an important contribution to early treatment initiation and improving engagement.

Theories of psychopathology: Introduction to a special section.

This special section on theories of psychopathology provides an opportunity to collect the emergent, cross-cutting scholarship that is challenging traditional approaches to understanding mental illness. Here, we appraise the state of theory in the field and emphasize the pitfalls of working in the context of overly flexible, unchallenged, and essentially unchallengeable theoretic models, such as the biopsychosocial model, which we argue has become the de facto theoretic model for our field. We further posit that theoretic shortcomings are contributing to the often-referenced pessimism regarding our progress in understanding and treating mental illness, and introduce the charge of the authors of the papers in this section to articulate novel, falsifiable theories of psychopathology. We briefly touch on the intertwined issue of how to define psychopathology and discuss a key issue raised by the array of papers comprising the section, namely how to conceptualize the spatiotemporal boundaries of complex causal systems. We then use this schematic for understanding how these theories relate to each other and to the vanilla biopsychosocial model they are vying to replace. Ultimately, it is our belief and hope that progress in theoretic thinking will catalyze faster progress in research and improvements to and novel developments in clinical prevention and intervention efforts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Art for Humanizing Mental Illness When Teaching Diagnosis

Teaching a class that covers psychiatric diagnoses is essential for graduate students in mental health professions both for the purpose of providing informed therapeutic services for their clients who may have been diagnosed with a mental illness, and, increasingly, for the provision of diagnosis as a licensed clinician in the United States. Art therapy educators designed an experiential learning approach rooted in two frameworks that humanize mental illness (Two Continua Model of Mental Health and Mental Illness, Power Threat Meaning) combined with reflective art viewing and making. A cumulative art assignment based on one-canvas painting fosters students’ critical perspectives through four observed patterns: appreciating impact of layering; understanding mental illness through art materials and processes; empathizing through reflecting on one’s own experiences; and recognizing the wholeness of those living with mental illness. The incorporation of response art in the psychopathology class has had the intended dual impact of instilling a humanizing approach to mental illness and fostering self-reflection.

What Is Psychiatry About?

What Is Psychiatry About? Dominic Murphy, PhD (bio) There are no such things as minds, but there are animate objects who behave differently from other types of natural entity. They move around under their own power, and some of their activity seems to be very different from that of other natural objects. Furthermore, some of our predictions about these objects are disproved in interesting ways; if we make a false prediction we do not revise our best theory about how such things generally behave, but we instead conclude that there is something wrong with the object of the prediction. These intelligent unpredictable things need a special vocabulary, and mental talk has arisen to serve as that vocabulary. But since a mind is not a thing in nature we face the problem of saying what the sciences of the mind are actually about. There are, then, intelligent systems that can be judged pathological, and some of them are our conspecifics. It is fair to say that there is no agreement about how such judgments are made or should be made. The question of what a mental illness is part of this larger picture, and it raises several different issues. First, how should we think about our practices of judging deviance? It would be contrary to accepted practice to wear a swimsuit to a state funeral, but what sort of norms would it violate and what state of mind would we ascribe to somebody who did it? Second, what is the difference between a judgment of deviance and a judgment of pathology? We have many ways of distinguishing between types of deviance, and the lines between criminality, immorality and pathology, to take three examples, are not always easy to discern. Third, what makes an illness a mental illness? This is Gough's topic, and I will get to it in a moment, but it worth situating it within this broader framework which asks what we are doing when we make these judgments of norm-violation. Gough begins by quite correctly pointing out that if we look at the domain of psychiatry as currently understood, we would have a hard time seeing what it is supposed to be the science of. It is customary to see psychiatry as dealing with the mental but, as Gough notes, there are some mental processes that psychiatry does not deal with, and some processes that psychiatry deals with that are not mental. Gough's response to this problem is a very interesting one, which starts from the idea that the point of psychiatry is to help those who need it; how different do things look if we start from this position? Conley and Glackin (2021) argues that the practical and therapeutic aspirations of psychiatry should constrain our understanding of mental illness. Glackin argues that we should [End Page 41] see this 'norms-first' view, as I will call it, as part of a broader liberal-democratic conversation about the ways in which we should live together A view that starts with norms is typically opposed to the 'naturalist' position. A naturalist begins with positive facts as the basis for diagnostic concepts, on the grounds that our concepts of disease and health are supposed to answer to facts about the physical and mental constitution of human beings. Gough's view is neither a norms-first view or a naturalist's view. We could call it an institutionalist view, or, if we were being a bit less kind, an ostensive one—"these things here, that's mental illness." David Hull (1988) taught us that every science (indeed, every intellectual formation or tradition) needs to be understood in two ways. First, we have the theoretical commitments that are taken to define it. Second, there are the practices and institutions that separate its practitioners off from others. Contemporary evolutionary biology, for instance, is built on the twin foundations of the modern synthesis—Darwinian natural selection and Mendelian genetics. These two theoretical commitments have been transformed and adapted and supplemented in diverse ways so that their modern forms no longer resemble their originals very closely. Still, they continue as the central undertakings about the nature of the living world that modern...

APA Library & Archives Receives Grant to Preserve Unique Collection

Back to table of contents Previous article Next article APA & MeetingsFull AccessAPA Library & Archives Receives Grant to Preserve Unique CollectionKatie O'ConnorKatie O'ConnorSearch for more papers by this authorPublished Online:25 Feb 2023https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.pn.2023.03.3.36AbstractThe APA Foundation’s Melvin Sabshin, M.D. Library & Archives boasts a unique collection of items, and a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities represents a major step to enabling the preservation of these treasures for generations to come.There are approximately 1,800 volumes in the APA Foundation’s (APAF) Melvin Sabshin, M.D. Library & Archives. The collection chronicles the history of the profession of psychiatry, the creation and advancement of APA, and the key figures that have shaped the field. To help preserve that history, the library has been awarded a $10,000 Preservation Assistance Grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities.Bexx Caswell-Olson, M.S.L.I.S., holds up a light meter to a shelf of antique books in the Melvin Sabshin, M.D. Library & Archives to measure the amount of visible and infrared light to which the books are exposed.KC Hodge“Our collection is incredibly valuable,” said Librarian and Archivist Deena Gorland, M.S.L.I.S. “This grant will allow us to understand what we need to do to preserve our volumes, which offer a unique window into the history of our understanding of mental illness over the centuries.”The grant allowed APAF to hire a conservator, Bexx Caswell-Olson, M.S.L.I.S., to assess the condition of the library’s collection and make preseveration and conservation recommendations. Caswell-Olson is the director of book conservation at the Northeast Document Conservation Center in Andover, Mass. She visited the library in late January and selected titles to evaluate with an emphasis on the library’s oldest and rarest volumes. “I’m looking at a wide variety of elements, including the temperature, the humidity, the lighting conditions, and just generally the environment that the books are being stored and used in,” Caswell-Olson told Psychiatric News during her visit. “But I’m also taking a closer look at the collection as a whole to get a better sense of what condition the books are in and what the biggest needs are.” Preservation Assistance Grants are awarded to small and midsize institutions to help improve their ability to preserve and care for their humanities collections, with the help of conservators like Caswell-Olson. APAF’s collection boasts a wide variety of works, including 15th and 16th century volumes, which chronicle witchcraft, superstition, and demonology. It includes, for example, a copy of The Malleus Maleficarum, which is often translated as “The Hammer of Witches” and was originally published in Germany in 1486. Altogether, the collection includes rare books, personal papers and manuscripts, audiovisual media, and oral histories that document both the history of the field of psychiatry as well as APA’s origins, development, activities, and achievements. The collection provides glimpses into the earliest mental illness treatments, as well as examples of advocacy, Gorland said. Caswell-Olson is working on a report detailing her suggestions as to how APAF can ensure the library’s longevity. She called the library “a beautiful, well-designed space” and noted that some books could use some special attention. Not only do some of the oldest volumes need additional preservation work, but so too do the volumes that date back to the late Victorian era. “The quality of materials they used then was not particularly good,” Caswell-Olson explained. “The industrial era was all about trying to make things faster and cheaper, and those books tend to fall apart as they age.” Gorland said her hope is that Caswell-Olson’s assessment will provide a roadmap that APAF can follow to protect and preserve the collection for generations to come. APAF’s Adopt-a-Book program for APA members was developed with that same goal in mind—to support the preservation of specific volumes while providing funds for the library to maintain and conserve its collection. Caswell-Olson pointed to the frequently used adage “preservation is access.” Without preserving the volumes in collections like APAF’s, future generations will lose access to a wealth of knowledge and irreplaceable items. “This library is part of this organization’s history and cultural heritage,” she said. “Preserving these works and making them available for continuing use, not just for the present but for the future as well, is hugely important.” ■ResourcesTo learn more about APAF’s library and archives, schedule a visit, or view virtual galleries, visit legacy.psychiatry.org. ISSUES NewArchived

Attaining well-being beyond the home: A socio-cultural framing of mental health among university students in the Philippines

Objectives: Mental health problems such as anxiety and depression have been steadily rising among university students in the Philippines. While there exists literature determining students’ quality of life and health access behaviour, there remains a substantial gap in having a local framework with which to understand their vulnerabilities. In this paper, we aim to identify the socio-cultural factors that exacerbate the challenges that Filipino university students navigate in their attainment of well-being. Design: The study used an exploratory qualitative design. Setting: Data were collected from university students attending a private higher education institution in Manila, the Philippines. Method: Using a cultural epidemiological approach and a qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted online with 60 university-level students. Interviews were recorded, transcribed and translated into English. Data were open coded and thematically analysed. Results: The lived experience of 60 university students revealed that factors including volatile household dynamics, intergenerational [mis]understanding of mental illness, stressful academic engagement and religious associations contributed to the individual framing of their conditions, which ranged from self-stigma to self-prescribed isolation. Various experiences linked to the Filipino value of pagdamay (sharing the burden) significantly aided students’ management of their conditions. Conclusion: Drawing on the narratives elicited, a community-based approach using the university as the core for intervention delivery is proposed that may positively impact on students’ mental health seeking behaviour.

Manifestations of Depression: Self-Perception, Culture, and Body

As we emerge in a post-pandemic society, the feelings of isolation present during quarantine persist. But for some, these feelings of isolation have been present long before the pandemic began. The ideal of mental wellness is an important one: depression, anxiety, and persistent feelings of hopelessness severely impact our lives, relationships with loved ones, and our relationship with ourselves. In conjunction with an understanding of mental wellness, there must also be an understanding of mental illness. For in our pursuit of mental wellness after quarantine, we must not forget our compassion for those who have been suffering without. Through this short virtual issue, we invite you to read the following selected articles from Culture & Psychology. Thematically, they may find themselves fitting well with a weekly seminar, or a graduate course on mental health. One may find themselves discovering new insights of theoretical expansion beyond what this Special Issue can provide. Thus, in a quest for the solidification of our compassion, this virtual issue delves into three key aspects of depression: its relationship with ourselves, our cultures, and our bodies.

Medical students’ perception towards mental health recovery: a descriptive qualitative study

ABSTRACT The conceptualisation of recovery in mental healthcare, for which two definitions (‘clinical’ and ‘personal’) prevail, remains inconclusive. In most curricula of medical education, undergraduates are taught straightforward concepts of clinical recovery, which result in their perfunctory and rudimentary understanding. A qualitative descriptive approach was adopted to explore medical undergraduates’ perceptions of recovery for people with mental health conditions. Participants were recruited from a Singapore-based university through convenience sampling; the required sample size was determined by data saturation. Individual face-to-face interviews were conducted through Zoom, an online conferencing platform using semi-structured questions from March to July 2021. Recordings of the interviews were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. The Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research (COREQ) checklist guided the reporting of this study. Seventeen medical students with the majority (fifteen) of them in their fourth year of medical undergraduate education participated in this study. Four themes were identified: the relationship between mental illnesses and well-being; opinions on mental well-being; understanding of mental illnesses; and perceptions of recovery from mental illnesses. The medical undergraduates in this study predominantly conceptualised recovery based on functions, although many also agreed on respecting patients’ perspectives in defining it. This aligns with contemporary approaches that emphasise more shared decision-making opportunities and empowering people with mental health conditions. Accordingly, our findings highlighted the need for foundational medical education to incorporate these constructs in their curricula and strategise to provide more meaningful discussions about them.

Changes in flourishing from adolescence to young adulthood: An 8‐year follow‐up

AbstractMost research on mental health among adolescents and young adults concentrates on understanding mental illness. However, mental health is more than the absence of mental illness. Among adolescents and young adults, positive mental health—a combination of emotional, social and psychological well‐being—is related to higher prosocial behaviour, school integration and self‐concept. However, much of the research on positive mental health among young adults has been with college students. Limited research has examined the presence and correlates of positive mental health, or flourishing, among a nationally representative sample of US young adults. This study extended from another researcher's original examination of positive mental health among US adolescents to describe the prevalence of flourishing among these same individuals in young adulthood. Our sample included 1090 individuals from the 2011 Panel Study of Income Dynamics Transition into Adulthood Supplement. Univariate and bivariate tests were used to describe the prevalence of flourishing during young adulthood and changes from adolescence to young adulthood. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the relationships among indicators of healthy development and flourishing. Results suggest that flourishing improved during the transition into young adulthood and that targeting factors like life skills and civic engagement may enhance flourishing.

Mental Health: New Approaches to an Old Problem

An overview of scientific advances in our understanding of mental illnesses over the last half century is considered within the Ghanaian context. Mental illnesses result from a complex interplay of brain circuitry, neurotransmitters, genetics, psychosocial and environmental factors. Stigma, based on ignorance continues to be a significant barrier to care in Ghana. Additionally, the high cost of mental illnesses resulting from prolonged disability, lost productivity and direct and indirect treatment costs should inform strategicplans for the prevention and treatment of psychiatric illnesses. With a psychiatrist to patient ratio of 1:2 million people, it is imperative that all physicians and other healthcare providers be psychiatrically informed practitioners, if we are to adequately care for our mentally disabled citizens. Psychiatric illnesses are significant in at least 50% of primary care visits. Untreated, they contribute to poormedical outcomes and suicide. Major psychiatric and substance use disorders are chronic medical illnesses of the brain, essentially no different from chronic illnesses of other organs like diabetes and hypertension. Implementation of the Mental Health Law, should beguided by scientific evidence and proven multi-modal treatments, including psychopharmacology and culturally informed psychotherapeutic and communitybased interventions. The law should form the basis for inter-disciplinary training in public mental health education and stigma reduction among teachers, nurses, physicians, social workers, judicial law enforcement agencies, pastors and others. Modern communications technology is currently underutilized in supporting sustainable solutions that offer protectionof human rights and the promotion of resiliency and recovery, based on scientific evidence.

Feasibility and acceptability of a mental health stigma intervention for low-income South African caregivers: A qualitative investigation.

BackgroundCommon mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders are increasing globally. There remain significant gaps in health services provision and support for mental illness linked to stigma in developing countries.AimOur study aimed to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a mental health intervention for caregivers of mental health service users.SettingLow-income South African communities.MethodOur study qualitatively assessed the feasibility of an anti-stigma mental health intervention for family caregivers in low-income settings. The intervention was structured into five sessions delivered over three days. Caregivers attended all the sessions at a centralised community venue. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were held separately with caregivers (n = 10) and their service users (n = 9) eight weeks post-intervention. Interviews were translated verbatim from local languages to English prior to framework analysis.ResultsPost-intervention, service users reported improved family relations and understanding of mental illness among family members. The intervention was reported as acceptable and helpful by caregivers as it increased knowledge, fostering better relationships with service users. Group discussions were noted as a critical driver of intervention success. Widespread mental health stigma within communities remained a key concern for caregivers and service users.ConclusionWith the government’s drive for deinstitutionalisation, the need to integrate anti-stigma interventions within community mental health services is vital, as is the need for population-wide anti-stigma interventions to support the integration of mental health service users within communities.

Forum 2: Suicide During COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us in many ways. To protect us from COVID-19 infection spread, we had to follow new rules or “SOP” that resulted in isolation, change of work or studying environment, loss of income and emotional disturbance. Many had to adapt to the new condition, but some found it overwhelming. The Malaysian police department reported 638 cases of suicide until July 2021 which is equivalent to a nearly 60% increase compared to last year. This is an alarming report which requires action to be taken at many levels. Awareness about the importance of mental health and understanding mental illnesses are slowly improving but the stigma is still present which deters people from seeking appropriate help. Healthcare professionals are also experiencing burnout due to the current pandemic and are also vulnerable to emotional disturbance. Hence, it is time to discuss this topic with experts from diverse backgrounds to understand issues related to suicide, especially during this pandemic.International Journal of Human and Health Sciences Supplementary Issue: 2022 Page: S13

Need for an Integrative Conceptual Framework for Addressing Mental Health Challenges During the COVID-19 Pandemic

The burden of mental illness across the globe, already significant, has grown dramatically since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is, in part, due to limitations in the current conceptual frameworks for understanding mental illness and resulting methods of practice. This paper provides an overview of the state of mental health and illness in the world, summarizes the prevailing frameworks and practices, and introduces a potential framework which could guide a response to the mental health challenges of the pandemic.