A Cry for Community

In the Western culture, mental illness is often addressed with antidepressants and therapy sessions. While this strategy may provide relief for some, many do not improve and the effects are not sustained. What’s missing for these people? For decades, researchers have found significant improvement in mental wellbeing when people engage in community activities, such as dancing and volunteering. Yet, community strategies are most often neglected in the Western healthcare system. In this article I address the research on the effects of community activities on mental health, and demonstrate its potential as a treatment strategy for mental illness. I end the article with four evidence-based strategies for using community building as a frontline-therapeutic approach. This article was first published in Subkiton July 08, 2022 (https://www.subkit.com/pernillebuelow/posts/a-cry-for-community-166c64b4-8d08-4e9f-bdca-986eb0d6fff6).