Picture someone who keeps getting headaches. They take painkillers every day, and the headaches go away for a few hours. But they always come back. It never occurs to them to check whether they need glasses, or whether they’re chronically dehydrated, or whether stress is tightening the muscles in their neck. The painkillers work, sort of. But the problem never actually gets solved.

This is roughly what happens when mental health treatment focuses only on symptom management.… Read more