Briefing on Transdiagnostic Approaches to Mental Health and Neurodevelopment

9 November 2022

The briefing outlines the importance of transdiagnostic approaches to mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions.

Transdiagnostic Approaches to Mental Health and Neurodevelopment

The Embracing Complexity Special Interest Research Group and the Language and Communication Special Interest Research Group, both funded by Emerging Minds, have published a joint briefing on transdiagnostic approaches to researching mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions.

The current situation

Clinical services and research into mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions are predominantly organised around a set of separate diagnostic categories.

However, this structure does not reflect the fact that meeting criteria for multiple diagnoses is more common than a single diagnosis.

Opportunities provided by transdiagnostic approaches to research

A transdiagnostic approach seeks to look beyond and across diagnostic categories. It enables studies which more accurately reflect the real complexity of these co-occurring and overlapping conditions.