New Mexico Mental Health

Integrative Psychiatry vs. Traditional Psychiatry: A Guide for NM Patients

By Dr. Stacey Forbes, DNP, APRN, PMHNP-BC

Both approaches can prescribe medication and treat mental illness — but they ask different questions. Here’s how to tell them apart.

Traditional psychiatry

Conventional psychiatry focuses primarily on diagnosis and symptom management, often through medication. It’s effective and evidence-based, but visits can be short and focused narrowly on prescriptions.

Integrative psychiatry

Integrative (or functional) psychiatry includes everything traditional psychiatry does — including medication when appropriate — but adds a root-cause lens. It evaluates contributors like the gut-brain connection, nutrition, hormones, inflammation, sleep, and lifestyle.

Which is right for you?

• If you want fast, medication-focused care, either approach works
• If your symptoms haven’t fully responded to medication alone, integrative care may uncover missed factors
• If you prefer a whole-person approach, integrative psychiatry fits that philosophy

Willow & Stone offers integrative psychiatry to New Mexico patients via telehealth.