Val’s Take
- Mainstream Mental Health Advocacy Organizations such as Mental Health America and NAMI have long recognized the need to support RESEARCH efforts.
- Much of our advocacy work involves not only support of RESEARCH but SUPPORT OF TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH & MEDICINE.
There are 2 BIG PARTS TO THIS CASE:

- Showing that the Mental Health Profession isn’t on top of the RESEARCH that is out there, AND
- Needs the support of a systematic (probably Federally Funded) IMPROVED TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH & MEDICINE PROGRAM that can keep up with the fire hose of information coming out of the RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS.
- The New Paradigms with regard to the Developmental Aspects of Psychiatric Disorders, Widespread Executive Functioning Differences or Deficits and Major Connections to the IMMUNE SYSTEM —–
Bring with them significant NEW CONCEPTUALIZATIONS that have IMPLICATIONS for Public Policy, Practice & Criminal Justice NOW.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN FOR PUBLIC HEALTH?
Conjecture: We see the increase in Psychiatric Disorders related to multi-generational accumulated epigenetic changes connected in part to a move away from traditional agricultural societies.
In part, we are relying on the work of Kings College London Prof. Graham Rook and his Old Friends Hypothesis.
Additionally, we view many psychiatric disorders as:
- Developmental
- Including Executive Functioning Differences and/or Deficits
- Sometimes/often Special Strengths or Abilities as the result of idiosyncratic wiring of the brain.
- Hyper-Connected Brains
- Often emotions that may be more Intense. This runs the gamut from “personality disorders” to “giftedness” — BUT there is something BIOLOGICAL going on here that is often being missed — ADHD’s Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria and/or Bipolar Disorder “Reactive Cells” seem to be viable explanations for many cases.
- Such psychiatric disorders include not just the brain, but also:
- The Immune System
- The Endocrine System
- The Microbiome, and
- Metabolism.