Integral

Pharmacological treatments are the mainstay of current psychiatric practice as effective treatments for a variety of mental disorders. Many recognize the inadequacy of a purely biological treatment for most patients. The psychiatric field appears to be shifting into a more integrative stance with biological and psychosocial treatments. With the vast array of therapies, the Integral approach

attempts to embrace all schools of treatment into a coherent whole. Two elements of the AQAL

framework — quadrants

and levels

— are introduced as relevant aspects for Integral Psychiatry. The second part of the article describes the major psycho-philosophical options available to a practicing physician including a single-school, eclectic, integrative, and Integral orientation. An Integral approach is the most comprehensive—treating the patient, their illness, and the practitioner. The basic five elements of the AQAL model (quadrants, levels, lines

, states

, and types

) are introduced in an attempt to construct a psychiatric meta-theory and advance clinical practice.