Mental Health as Relational Coherence

Research Focus

We critiques individualistic psychiatric models and proposes a new framework for mental health based on relational coherence. Drawing on Anangu Indigenous teachings, we argue that wellbeing is not an internal psychological state but the result of stable connections between kinship, land, and law. Within this model, experiences like loneliness and trauma are viewed as signals of disruption in the broader relational field rather than personal pathologies. By moving past vague notions of holism, we offer a precise ontological foundation for social and emotional wellbeing. We suggest that healing requires restoring alignment within a person’s external relationships rather than focusing solely on clinical, individual-level interventions.