Mental Health Interventions in Everyday Life: Beyond Psychotherapy to Reduce Symptoms of Mental Disorders and Improve Wellbeing

Summary

Around the world, people are facing high and rising levels of mental health problems. There exist effective treatments, but they largely are not reaching people in need. In Mental Health Interventions in Everyday Life, renowned author Alan E. Kazdin examines how the integration of a set of everyday solutions can help people deal with depression, anxiety, loneliness, social isolation, and stress.

Kazdin digs deep into the scientific evidence behind a number of everyday activities to illuminate their ability to directly reduce the symptoms of mental disorders and other conditions that impair functioning. These everyday interventions range from physical activities like exercise, contact with nature, and diet, to social activities like volunteering, hobbies, and contact with pets. Mental Health Interventions in Everyday Life proposes how integrating physical, mental, spiritual, and social practices into the daily lives of individuals facing mental health problems can help move mental health practice outside of the clinical context, while serving a wide array of people who are currently underserved.