Integrative Mental Health – the way forward

The MEP Interest Group on Integrative Medicine and Health will host the event ‘Integrative Mental Health –  the way forward’ on Tuesday 28 March 2023 at 16:00-18:00 CET.

Take the opportunity to meet with leading academic experts and members of the European Parliament. Experts working at the intersection of mental health and Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) will share evidence-based solutions and explain the particular benefits of applying TCIM in this important area.

The role of TCIM – Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine

Nearly 125 million people in the WHO European region – equivalent to 13% of its population – were already living with mental illness before the COVID-19 pandemic. Nonetheless, the pandemic has worsened the situation by increasing the rates of already-common conditions such as depression and anxiety by more than 25%. Mental health problems are becoming more and more serious and costly, whether they result from various factors, such as rising economic and social inequities, rapid societal, political, and environmental shifts or the COVID-19 pandemic.

To address these challenges, Traditional, Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) can play an important role in mitigating the effects of these developments on the human psyche. Among the array of available TCIM techniques, popular practices such as mindfulness or yoga training, and methods such as acupuncture, should be accessible to more people. By using these techniques, Europeans can equip themselves with enjoyable and effective tools for preventing ill mental health, improving their daily management of mental illness, and building up mental and physical resilience. Mental health is critically important to everyone, everywhere, and it is essential to recognize that there is no health without mental health, as WHO’s Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus rightly argues.

Register here.

EUROCAM runs the secretariat of the MEP Interest Group on Integrative Medicine and Health. ECCH is member of EUROCAM.