Mental health is more than the absence of psychological trauma.

Mental health is more than the absence of psychological trauma. Mental health is equally much the growth and resilience of the mind and human experience. The modern field of psychology has only existed for a little more than 100 years but equivalents and “alternative” practices have existed for millennia. Through religion, philosophy, shamanism and many other local/regional cultural institutions. The goal has been the same. To understand ourselves and others.

How we understand ourselves and others is ultimately a job for the brain. The human brain is in the end an advanced prediction generator. It stands to reason that a lot of the unease (and dis-ease) experienced in our modern 21st century lives come from an unbalanced match between our many prediction models and how we perceive the world. Or to put it another way. There is a discrepancy between our predictions of ourselves and others, and how we perceive ourselves and others.

Coming back to our cultural institutions and practices that have and continue to serve the role of maps and compasses that help us navigate our prediction models and perceptions. Depending on who we are, our default set of prediction models that organize our personal life and our world-view differ. However, our perception of ourselves and the world around us might not serve our mental health and well-being. Luckily for all of us there exists an ocean of thoughts and practices to help us adjust our perceptions and world-views.

Academy of Tribes seek to help navigate this ocean of thoughts and practices to find methods and knowledge that can help this process for individuals and businesses alike. To better understand ourselves and others in our shared existence.

- Eric A. H. Schaumburg