New ARETÉ Science Organization Calls for Overhaul of Outdated Mental Health System

Led by Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, the nonprofit launches a five-year roadmap to confront scientific failure and reset psychiatric care from the ground up.

NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. mental health system is not just overloaded—it is broken. Its chronic inadequacy reflects a historic neglect and indifference toward mental illness that must be addressed. ARETÉ Science is therefore officially launching its mission to correct the systemic, humanitarian, and moral failures that have prevented millions from receiving the care they need.

Founded by Dr. Jeffrey Lieberman, former Chair of Psychiatry at Columbia University and past President of the American Psychiatric Association, ARETÉ Science proposes a comprehensive renovation of the mental health care system and how mental illness is defined and viewed by the media and public—grounded in modern brain science.

"We're still treating 21st-century brain disorders with 20th-century concepts and clinical infrastructures and models of care," said Dr. Lieberman. Most people with serious mental illness is misdiagnosed, untreated or insufficiently treated, or ignored altogether. The time to revamp the system is NOW.

The Challenge: A Crisis of Science, Policy, and Will

ARETÉ's launch is anchored by two foundational documents. The Challenge details how outdated therapeutic models, outdated federal policy, and fragmented and dysfunctional mental health infrastructure is.  Concerns are:

• 70 million Americans suffer from serious mental illness, yet most receive no or poor-quality care
  
  
• The stakeholders serve their own interests rather than those of the patient.
  
  
• Scientific progress in brain research has not been translated efficiently into practice or policy
  
  
• Government policies impede rather than facilitate mental health care

ARETÉ frames this failure as not only a clinical shortfall, but a civil rights violation—one that deprives people with behavioral brain disorders of the care dignity, and opportunity afforded to those with physical illnesses.

The Plan: A Three-Stage Roadmap to Structural Reform

The second document, The Plan, lays out ARETÉ's phased strategy, modeled in part of the AIDS policy movement:

1. Awareness & Narrative Saturation — Launch a targeted editorial and media strategy aimed at stakeholder groups, the media, and the public to raise awareness and urgency with the goal of making mental health care reform a national priority.
   
   
2. Policy & Legislative Reform — Advocate for structural changes in financing, care infrastructure, and federal priorities
   
   
3. Blueprint for a New System — Develop and disseminate a modern, integrated model for mental health care based on current science

This strategy is time-limited, outcome-driven and supported by expert collaborators in neuroscience, policy, clinical psychiatry, and public communication.

A Call for Dialogue
ARETÉ Science is inviting journalists, researchers, and policymakers to engage in direct conversation. Dr. Lieberman is available for interviews, background briefings and editorial commentary.

Access the Foundational White Papers:

• The Challenge – https://aretescience.org/the-challenge-whitepaper
  
  
• The Plan – https://aretescience.org/the-plan-whitepaper

About Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD

Jeffrey A. Lieberman, MD, is a renowned psychiatrist, educator, and researcher whose career has shaped the field of mental health care and neuroscience. A former President of the American Psychiatric Association and Chair of Psychiatry at Columbia University, Dr. Lieberman has led groundbreaking work in the diagnosis, treatment, and understanding of serious mental illnesses, particularly schizophrenia.

He served as Director of the New York State Psychiatric Institute and was the founding director of Columbia's Lieber Center for Schizophrenia Research. A champion for advancing psychiatry through science, Dr. Lieberman has authored over 600 peer-reviewed articles and the widely acclaimed book Shrinks: The Untold Story of Psychiatry. His advocacy for public understanding and destigmatization of mental illness has made him a trusted voice in national health policy and media.

Visit jeffreyliebermanmd.org to learn more.

Media Contact:
Rod McGregor
330.418.1124
[email protected]

SOURCE ARETÉ Science