What kind of science for dual diagnosis? A pragmatic examination of the enactive approach to psychiatry.
Frontiers in psychology January 1, 2022 Jonathan Led Larsen, Katrine Schepelern Johansen, Mimi Yung Mehlsen 7 citations
Dual diagnosis—when substance use and another mental disorder occur together—lacks a theoretical framework for communication across disciplines and services. This paper examines whether Enactive Psychiatry can fill that gap. The authors take a pragmatic approach: first, a historical analysis of how the theoretical gap in dual diagnosis developed; second, applying Enactive Psychiatry to longitudinal data on cannabis use trajectories in psychosis disorders. They suggest the enactive approach may help achieve a more expedient pragmatic grip on the field. They also consider whether enactive and related systems-thinking theories could prompt a wider progressive shift in psychiatry, but argue this potential is weaker unless complexity like that in dual diagnosis is demonstrated in other clinical fields.