Webinar report: Integrative Mental Health ‘Best Practices’, the untapped potential
This webinar too place on 21st May 2025, 13h-14h30 CET.
During the European Mental Health Week, EUROCAM, together with Charité CCCTIM, organised a webinar to highlight the contribution that Traditional, Complementary, and Integrative Healthcare (TCIH) can make to mental health care in Europe. The webinar built on the earlier event held at the European Parliament in March 2023. Its aim was to share evidence informed best practices, underline the political relevance, and inform a broad audience — from policymakers to healthcare providers and patients — about the value of an integrative approach to mental health in line with One Health principles.
Adrianne Waldt (EUROCAM - ETCMA) opened the online event and facilitated the discussion with experts from a range of perspectives — political, academic, and clinical viewpoints were all well represented. The full recording can be viewed on EUROCAM’s YouTube channel.
From a political perspective, Member of the European Parliament Aurelijus Veryga, former Minister of Health in Lithuania, voiced his support for including safe, evidence informed complementary therapies in policy. Given the pressure on healthcare systems, the aftermath of COVID-19, and the mental health impact of crises such as climate change and war, he stressed the importance of broadening the healthcare model.
From a scientific viewpoint, Dr. Hiba Boujnah (Charité Berlin CCCTIM) highlighted the importance of a One Health approach, connecting human, animal, and environmental health. She referred to a WHO review showing that nature-based therapies — such as forest walks and gardening — are effective in mental health conditions including schizophrenia. These accessible interventions are low-cost, scalable, and particularly suitable for communities.
Professor Dr. Gustav Dobos (Germany) shared a clinical perspective, drawing on his experience with more than 50,000 patients who benefited from mind-body medicine. Interventions such as mindfulness, plant-based nutrition, exercise, and social connection play a central role. Dobos pointed to studies showing that mindfulness-based stress reduction yielded better outcomes than antidepressants for mild to moderate depression. His message: more personal agency and less dependence on medication.
From the field of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), Dr. Aram Akopyan (ETCMA) emphasised the importance of a personalised and holistic approach. He highlighted safe and effective interventions such as acupuncture, Tai Chi, Qi Gong, and herbal treatments, used for anxiety, depression, and sleep disorders. Akopyan shared practical examples, including TCM interventions for ADHD in schools, PTSD in veterans, and preventive programmes in Greek clinics.
Anthroposophic medicine was represented by psychiatrist Dr. Davide Bertorelli, who stressed that care should address body, soul, and spirit. Therapies such as eurythmy, music and art therapy, and rhythmic massage are applied to support recovery. He advocated for respect for human dignity and freedom of choice, including in psychiatry.
The patient and family perspective was shared by John Saunders, Executive Director of EUFAMI. He described how mental health care has shifted from passive treatment to recovery-oriented collaboration between patients and doctor/practitioner. Increasingly, people are consciously seeking integrative options such as yoga, acupuncture, or mindfulness. He called for better access to reliable information and shared compelling real-life examples of how integrative methods have helped in severe mental illnesses like psychosis.
The key conclusion of the webinar, as emphasised by Dr. Susanne Schunder-Tatzber (EUROCAM), was that TCIH represents a valuable complement to conventional mental health care. These approaches are safe, person-centred, affordable, and effective — both in prevention and treatment. There is strong scientific evidence as well as practical experience within Europe.
The webinar stressed the importance of collaboration between policymakers, healthcare providers, scientists, and patients to structurally integrate these approaches into health policy.
The recording is available below. Thank you to all the speakers and participants for their contributions!