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Re-thinging Embodied and Enactive Psychiatry: A Material Engagement Approach.

Lambros Malafouris^1,2, Frank Röhricht³

¹Institute of Archaeology, University of Oxford, 36 Beaumont Str, Oxford, OX1 2PG, UK. lambros.malafouris@arch.ox.ac.uk.

Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry

|July 18, 2024

Summary

This study explores how understanding mental illness requires looking beyond the brain to the environment. A material engagement approach offers new insights for psychiatric treatment and care.

Keywords:

Dementia Embodiment Enactivism Material Engagement Theory Materiality Mental health Schizophrenia

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Area of Science:

Psychiatry
Philosophy of Mind
Cognitive Science

Background:

Emerging theories suggest mental illness understanding requires an ecological, external focus.
The intricate relationship between materiality and mental health is not well understood.

Purpose of the Study:

To discuss the advantages of a material engagement approach in embodied and enactive psychiatry.
To explore how this approach can reshape the discourse on mental disorders and improve treatments.

Main Methods:

Applying Material Engagement Theory (MET) to psychiatry.
Examining schizophrenia and dementia for shared phenomenological manifestations (memory, self-awareness, embodiment, temporality).
Analyzing socio-material relations, including materials, environments, and technical mediations.

Main Results:

The material engagement approach offers a novel perspective on mental disorders.
Understanding socio-material relations enhances insights into psychiatric conditions.
Potential for developing innovative treatment approaches.

Conclusions:

Adopting a material engagement approach can significantly benefit embodied and enactive psychiatry.
This framework provides new theoretical and practical avenues for managing and treating psychiatric conditions.
There is untapped potential for novel interventions and care practices informed by socio-material interactions.