As a psychiatrist, I know better than most the urgency with which we need new ways to enhance mental health. It is for this reason that I am so excited by the work being done by the John W. Brick Foundation in the areas of research, advocacy and education. The Foundation's vision of resilience building practices is simultaneously in line with ancient wisdom and cutting edge science.

The John W. Brick Foundation is a true pioneer in raising public awareness of evidence-based non-pharmaceutical approaches: the lifestyle factors that promote and even treat mental health. They focus on programs and scientific research that help our society recognize nutrition, physical activity, and mind-body practices in the mental health realm.

The John W Brick Foundation fills a unique and critical gap in the world of mental health research. It is unique in focusing on salutogenic ways of promoting good mental health. It will illuminate new or under-recognized methods of enhancing emotional well being even in the face of living with a chronic psychiatric disorder. It has enabled us to ask innovative research questions about natural methods for building stress resilience.

Few organizations seek to advance the treatment of mental illness beyond the biomedical model, but the John W. Brick Mental Foundation does just that. The Foundation supports community organizations and scientists to include lifestyle factors as primary or adjunct treatment approaches into their programs so that patients don’t just survive, but thrive.