Holistic treatment better for patients

One of the two themes being used this year to highlight mental health issues is called “Do More for 1 in 4.” According to recent statistics from the National Institute of Mental Health, one in four American adults are living with diagnosable, treatable mental health condition like depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder or substance abuse.

In this guest editorial, “It’s Time to Challenge Mental Health Policy that is Slowing Holistic Treatment” Jerry L. Halverson, MD, FAPA, advocates for complete and coordinated care for mental health treatment like the kind delivered to patients at Rogers Memorial Hospital.

"Partly because of stigma, mental health care has for decades been segregated and siloed from physical health care. As a result, many individuals were not treated holistically but instead their head and body were treated separately." 

Mental health care treatment, Halverson says, should take a holistic approach to treatment, considering the connections and interplay between a person’s mental and physical well-being.

"Studies are increasingly identifying correlations between physical and mental health-related problems and finding that individuals with serious physical health problems often have co-morbid mental health problems. We are finding “coordinated care” is better care and more cost effective care."

The editorial was published in a recent edition of the Wisconsin Hospital Association’s “Valued Voice” newspaper.

Halverson is a board-certified adult psychiatrist with a subspecialty in psychosomatic medicine. He serves as medical director for adult services at Rogers Memorial Hospital-Oconomowoc. He is also the president-elect of the Wisconsin Psychiatric Association.

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