From lifestyle psychiatry to whole person health: Evidence, dissemination, and scalable approaches

People with severe mental illness have a life expectancy approximately 15–20 years shorter than the general population. Research is focusing on the identification of the biological and psychosocial factors contributing to this premature mortality. The need to focus on the interplay between physical and mental health has been repeatedly stated, but at the moment, a few clinical strategies have been implemented worldwide. The European Psychiatric Association has recently launched six task forces, each of them dealing with the critical areas of mental health practice. The task force on “Whole Person Health” aims to promote the integration of mental and physical health through lifestyle-related practices and address multimorbidity and premature mortality among people with severe mental illness through a series of educational, clinical, advocacy levels activities, which are briefly outlined in this paper.