Unlocking the keys to mental health

The Neural Health Project’s whole person approach provides keys to unlocking better mental health. The development of the project came from the need to make a difference in the lives of patients and their families touched by mental illness.

Using an Integrative Medical approach to mental illness, this method takes into account the whole person (body, mind, spirit and community), including all aspects of lifestyle.

Led by Drs. Anne Leis and Shirley (DeeDee) Maltman (MD’85), the project is a collaboration between members of the Centre for Integrative Medicine, the Department of Community Health and Epidemiology, and the Neuroscience Research Cluster.

Since last year much activity has occurred behind the scenes to move this project forward, including meetings to get unified directives between the experts involved in the project. The project is approved for ethics trials by the University of Saskatchewan’s ethics board.

One of the five areas of the project, the trials will attempt to show that an Integrative Medical approach will be effective in reducing depression for patients, through things like exercise, meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction, reducing environmental toxins, community, and changes to diet, to name a few. The researchers hypothesize that this integrative approach will be as effective as conventional medicine in many people. The study also looks to evaluate the possibility of developing biomarkers to better define the subpopulation of patients that would benefit the most from an integrative approach.

Along with the ethics trials, funding was approved to conduct a one-year pilot study. However, additional funding is still required to extend the project beyond this pilot timeframe.

Thank you to all supporters who have contributed to this exciting research initiative. It is important to continue this work in the field of mental health by studying outcomes using an Integrative Medical approach. The ongoing support of Mike Babcock, 2016 Honorary Doctorate and coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs, is appreciated.

(from the 2018 edition of Connective Issue)