Toward Holistic Recovery: Exploration of Multidisciplinary Orientations in Mental Health Care

This study examines the lack of recovery by integrating the multidisciplinary functions of various professionals to develop a step-by-step protocol. A qualitative thematic analysis using the Braun and Clarke approach was conducted based on data collected from ten mental health professionals, including psychiatrists, psychologists, primary care doctors, guidance counselors, social workers, nurses, and behavioral therapists, ranging from beginning to experienced professionals. This research used Ludwig Von Bertalanffy’s General Systems Theory and Bruce J. Biddle’s Role Theory. Effectively implementing mental health interventions across modalities requires understanding multiple disciplines, the surrounding challenges, and the influence of culture. This paper explored mental health experts’ views on holistic recovery, identified barriers and enablers to collaborative multidisciplinary teamwork, and examined different viewpoints on relapse, motivation, and compliance. Overall, the qualitative thematic analysis using the Braun and Clarke framework revealed nine themes. First, the predominant theory applied in this study combines cognitive-behavioral and ecological skills-building within a biopsychosocial framework. Success in behavior change does not involve reaching clinical excellence; rather, it is about functional recovery, self-efficacy, and consistent adherence. The major predictors of successful transformation and recovery milestones are the client’s readiness, therapeutic alliance with warmth (pagkalinga), and small early wins such as improved sleep. The relationship between the biological and environmental factors was seen to be a 40/60 ratio, where socioeconomic factors (pamasahe, medicine shortages), family stigma (nag-iinarte), and disorganized environment are the barriers to recovery. Lastly, relapse should not be viewed from a punitive perspective but as a learning phase, following immediate medical treatment, followed by trigger identification and family-based routine co-regulation. Overall, five key routines have been established as follows: sleep, physical activities, meals, mindful check-ins, and balanced allocation of time.