Possible Futures for the Psychological Network Approach: Agenda for Clinical Scientists

Abstract

The psychological network approach, which conceptualizes mental disorders as complex systems and provides a statistical toolbox to estimate symptom networks, has evoked innovations in psychopathology research. This perspective paper discusses how to implement this approach in real-world clinical settings, emphasizing that clinical scientists should motivate clinicians and clients to utilize it. To promote the clinical use of the psychological network approach, we provide the following five steps clinical scientists should undertake: (a) provide clinicians and clients with the necessary background knowledge, (b) encourage clinicians to use the narrative network models, (c) provide clinicians with user-friendly software to conduct empirical network analyses, (d) explore clients' experiences during the pilot trials using the psychological network approach, and (e) develop guidelines for interventions using the psychological network approach through the collaboration of clinical scientists, clinicians, and clients. We close the paper by discussing the importance of bridging the academic field and clinical settings, in the hopes that other clinical scientists will participate in the discussion of possible futures for the psychological network approach.