{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T11:46:45Z","timestamp":1782301605951,"version":"3.54.5"},"reference-count":38,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782259200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Psychiatry"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Modern psychiatry is transitioning from an entity-based taxonomy toward a systems-oriented science that integrates biological, psychological, social, and existential levels of analysis. We propose a conceptual framework that combines genetics and multi-omics approaches, synergetics, complex systems theory, and a neo-existentialist perspective. Within this framework, psychiatric illness is conceptualized as a crisis of regulation and meaning emerging across dynamically interacting multi-level networks. We discuss implications for clinical practice, including process-based psychotherapy, idiographic mapping, and neuromodulatory interventions, as well as consequences for service design, such as recovery-oriented integrated care ecosystems and ethical challenges in forensic settings. Finally, we outline key research directions, including multimodal clustering approaches and digital phenotyping, aimed at capturing non-linear trajectories of mental suffering and recovery. \u201cIn order to possess what you do not possess\u2026\u201d \u2015 T.S. Eliot<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1824703","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T10:52:10Z","timestamp":1782298330000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Psychiatry and the unknown future: the period of hope"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Andreas","family":"Conca","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Bolzano Central Hospital","place":["Bolzano, Italy"]},{"name":"Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversitat","place":["Salzburg, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Giancarlo","family":"Giupponi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bolzano Central Hospital","place":["Bolzano, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Klaus","family":"Eisendle","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bolzano Central Hospital","place":["Bolzano, Italy"]},{"name":"Claudiana Scuola Provinciale Superiore di Sanita","place":["Bolzano, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Filippo","family":"Boschello","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bolzano Central Hospital","place":["Bolzano, Italy"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fabian Max","family":"Wedmann","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Bolzano Central Hospital","place":["Bolzano, Italy"]},{"name":"Paracelsus Medizinische Privatuniversitat","place":["Salzburg, Austria"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"B1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2023.1157217","article-title":"Editorial: Biopsychosocial complexity research","volume":"14","author":"Schubert","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"B2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"499","DOI":"10.1126\/science.aab2358","article-title":"Medicine. Brain disorders? Precisely","volume":"348","author":"Insel","year":"2015","journal-title":"Science"},{"key":"B3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.4497","article-title":"Dynamic models of large-scale brain activity","volume":"20","author":"Breakspear","year":"2017","journal-title":"Nat Neurosci"},{"key":"B4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.ajp.2017.17030283","article-title":"Psychiatric genomics: an update and an agenda","volume":"175","author":"Sullivan","year":"2018","journal-title":"Am J Psychiatry"},{"key":"B5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"23","DOI":"10.1007\/s40211-025-00564-0","article-title":"Multi-omics approaches to major psychiatric disorders","volume":"40","author":"Oraki Kohshour","year":"2025","journal-title":"Neuropsychiatrie"},{"key":"B6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pmed.0030294","article-title":"Anthropology in the clinic: the problem of cultural competency and how to fix it","volume":"3","author":"Kleinman","year":"2006","journal-title":"PloS Med"},{"key":"B7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2105\/ajph.2014.302200","article-title":"Social determinants of health equity","author":"Marmot","year":"2014","journal-title":"Am J Public Health"},{"key":"B8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/a0036505","article-title":"The role of mentalizing and epistemic trust in the therapeutic relationship","volume":"51","author":"Fonagy","year":"2014","journal-title":"Psychotherapy"},{"key":"B9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"105313","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2023.105313","article-title":"Genetic architecture of ADHD and overlap with other psychiatric disorders and cognition-related phenotypes","volume":"153","author":"Ribas\u00e9s","year":"2023","journal-title":"Neurosci Biobehav Rev"},{"key":"B10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/mp.2011.182","article-title":"The dappled nature of causes of psychiatric illness: replacing the organic-functional\/hardware-software dichotomy with empirically based pluralism","volume":"17","author":"Kendler","year":"2012","journal-title":"Mol Psychiatry"},{"key":"B11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"5","DOI":"10.1002\/wps.20375","article-title":"A network theory of mental disorders","volume":"16","author":"Borsboom","year":"2017","journal-title":"World Psychiatry"},{"key":"B12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"88","DOI":"10.1007\/s11229-024-04741-6","article-title":"Computational psychiatry and the evolving concept of a mental disorder","volume":"204","author":"Genin","year":"2024","journal-title":"Synthese"},{"key":"B13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.bp.110.083733","article-title":"Conceptual framework for personal recovery in mental health: systematic review and narrative synthesis","volume":"199","author":"Leamy","year":"2011","journal-title":"Br J Psychiatry"},{"key":"B14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/s0033291712001420","article-title":"The balanced care model for global mental health","volume":"43","author":"Thornicroft","year":"2013","journal-title":"Psychol Med"},{"key":"B15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","DOI":"10.1027\/00472-000","volume-title":"Integrative Psychotherapy: A Feedback-Driven Dynamic Systems Approach","author":"Schiepek","year":"2015"},{"key":"B16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/s0378-4363(84)80007-8","article-title":"Synergetics of brain functions","volume":"60","author":"Haken","year":"2006","journal-title":"Int J Psychophysiol"},{"key":"B17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2011.0351","article-title":"Multistability and metastability: understanding dynamic coordination in the brain","volume":"367","author":"Kelso","year":"2012","journal-title":"Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci"},{"key":"B18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2015.00563","article-title":"The coordination dynamics of social neuromarkers","volume":"9","author":"Tognoli","year":"2015","journal-title":"Front Hum Neurosci"},{"key":"B19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2023.12.006","article-title":"A synergetic turn in cognitive neuroscience of brain diseases","volume":"28","author":"Ibanez","year":"2024","journal-title":"Trends Cognit Sci"},{"key":"B20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"122101","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0124274","article-title":"Phase transitions in evolutionary dynamics","volume":"32","author":"Scott","year":"2022","journal-title":"Chaos"},{"key":"B21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fncom.2012.00044","article-title":"Perception and self-organized instability","volume":"6","author":"Friston","year":"2012","journal-title":"Front Comput Neurosci"},{"key":"B22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature08227","article-title":"Early-warning signals for critical transitions","volume":"461","author":"Scheffer","year":"2009","journal-title":"Nature"},{"key":"B23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"25","DOI":"10.1177\/2167702619865969","article-title":"Critical fluctuations as an early-warning signal for sudden gains and losses in patients receiving psychotherapy for mood disorders","volume":"8","author":"Olthof","year":"2020","journal-title":"Clin psychol Sci"},{"key":"B24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyt.2021.598923","article-title":"Crisis concept re-loaded? The recently described suicide-specific syndromes may help to better understand suicidal behavior and assess imminent suicide risk more effectively","volume":"12","author":"Voros","year":"2021","journal-title":"Front Psychiatry"},{"key":"B25","volume-title":"Synergetik in Der Psychologie: Selbstorganisation Verstehen Und Gestalten","author":"Haken","year":"2010"},{"key":"B26","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"129","DOI":"10.1038\/s41398-023-02412-7","article-title":"Integrating genetics and transcriptomics to study major depressive disorder: a conceptual framework, bioinformatic approaches, and recent findings","volume":"13","author":"Hicks","year":"2023","journal-title":"Transl Psychiatry"},{"key":"B27","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fnhum.2025.1676585","article-title":"Macroscopic quantum effects in the brain: new insights into the fundamental principle underlying conscious processes","volume":"19","author":"Keppler","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Hum Neurosci"},{"key":"B28","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2004.1598","article-title":"Quantum physics in neuroscience and psychology: a neurophysical model of mind\u2013brain interaction","volume":"360","author":"Schwartz","year":"2005","journal-title":"Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci"},{"key":"B29","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1745691610388774","article-title":"Mistreating psychology in the decades of the brain","volume":"5","author":"Miller","year":"2010","journal-title":"Perspect Psychol Sci"},{"key":"B30","article-title":"Neurofenomenolog\u00eda del tiempo seg\u00fan Francisco Varela: la temporalidad de la conciencia explicada","volume":"41","author":"Vargas","year":"2013","journal-title":"Actas Esp Psiquiatr"},{"key":"B31","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1017\/s0140525x12000660","article-title":"Toward a second-person neuroscience","volume":"36","author":"Schilbach","year":"2013","journal-title":"Behav Brain Sci"},{"key":"B32","volume-title":"The Tree of Knowledge: The Biological Roots of Human Understanding","author":"Maturana","year":"1987"},{"key":"B33","volume-title":"I am Not a Brain: Philosophy of Mind for the Twenty-First Century","author":"Gabriel","year":"2017"},{"key":"B34","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"37","DOI":"10.1177\/2167702618772296","article-title":"The future of intervention science: process-based therapy","volume":"7","author":"Hofmann","year":"2019","journal-title":"Clin Psychol Sci"},{"key":"B35","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fpsyg.2022.1002849","article-title":"A process-based approach to cognitive behavioral therapy: a theory-based case illustration","volume":"13","author":"Ong","year":"2022","journal-title":"Front Psychol"},{"key":"B36","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41386-018-0030-z","article-title":"Relapse prediction in schizophrenia through digital phenotyping: a pilot study","volume":"43","author":"Barnett","year":"2018","journal-title":"Neuropsychopharmacology"},{"key":"B37","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.bpsc.2017.11.007","article-title":"Machine learning for precision psychiatry: opportunities and challenges","volume":"3","author":"Bzdok","year":"2018","journal-title":"Biol Psychiatry Cognit Neurosci Neuroimaging"},{"key":"B38","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/wps.20883","article-title":"The growing field of digital psychiatry: current evidence and the future of apps, social media, chatbots, and virtual reality","volume":"20","author":"Torous","year":"2021","journal-title":"World Psychiatry"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Psychiatry"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1824703\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T10:52:12Z","timestamp":1782298332000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1824703\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"references-count":38,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1824703"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpsyt.2026.1824703","relation":{},"ISSN":["1664-0640"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1664-0640","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"article-number":"1824703"}}