Mental Health and Metabolic Health: The Science and Art of Integrated Care

Jul 7, 2026 | Articles

September 16–19, 2026 | Live Online | $795 | Up to 26.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits

3 Days + Optional 1 Day Workshop

Register Now | View Full Program Details

Overview

Mental health and metabolic health are deeply interconnected. Mental health conditions rarely occur in isolation; they frequently co-occur with one another and with common medical illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, obesity, cancer, and neurological disorders. These conditions often overlap, interact, or present with shared symptoms, making coordinated, integrated care essential to improving long-term outcomes—particularly for individuals with chronic illness.

People living with mental illness die, on average, 10–20 years earlier than the general population, with much of this excess mortality driven not by suicide, but by preventable cardiometabolic disease and lifestyle-related factors. At the same time, metabolic conditions such as obesity, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes—now increasingly prevalent—are strongly associated with higher rates of depression, anxiety, bipolar disorder, psychosis, and cognitive decline. Together, these observations underscore a growing consensus: mental and physical health are fundamentally interconnected.

A robust and expanding body of research now demonstrates shared pathophysiological pathways underlying both mental and metabolic disorders. These include chronic inflammation, immune and neuroendocrine dysregulation, insulin resistance, circadian disruption, alterations in the gut microbiome, and mitochondrial and bioenergetic dysfunction. Collectively, these mechanisms challenge traditional diagnostic silos and point toward the need for more integrated, systems-based models of care.

In many respects, this work builds on familiar foundations—such as the integration of behavioral health into primary care, attention to social determinants of health, lifestyle medicine, preventive care, and mind–body approaches. However, this conference goes further. It synthesizes emerging mechanistic science—particularly in metabolic biology—with clinical evidence, patient experience, evolving therapeutics, and real-world health system considerations. In doing so, it offers a more complete framework for understanding why mental illness so often co-occurs with metabolic disease, why standard treatments may fall short or, at times, worsen outcomes, and how targeted metabolic interventions may improve care.

Through expert lectures, interdisciplinary panels, patient perspectives, and an optional one-day clinical workshop, participants will explore how integrated metabolic and mental health approaches can complement existing treatments, inform personalized care, and support recovery. The conference emphasizes scientific rigor, clinical safety, ethical responsibility, and team-based implementation, making it relevant for physicians, psychotherapists, nurses, dietitians, health coaches, researchers, and health care leaders.

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the bidirectional relationships between mental health and metabolic health.
  • Explain emerging evidence linking metabolic and bioenergetic dysfunction to neuropsychiatric disorders.
  • Evaluate and implement metabolic and lifestyle-based interventions—including nutrition and dietary strategies, exercise, sleep optimization, medications, supplements, stress-reduction, and light therapy—for their potential roles in mental health care.
  • Apply principles of integrated, team-based care to address mental health, metabolic health, and social determinants of health simultaneously across diverse clinical settings.

Who Should Participate

Physicians, Psychologists, Nurse Practitioners, Physician Assistants, Counselors, Social Workers, Dietitians, and Health Coaches

Developed and Offered By: Continuing Education courses are developed by faculty from Harvard Medical School’s teaching hospitals and accredited by Harvard Medical School. This course is offered by McLean Hospital.

Schedule

All agenda sessions are in Eastern Time. Learners will be able to register for an optional workshop titled “Ketogenic Therapies for Neuropsychiatric Disorders” on Saturday, September 19, 2026. The workshop fee is $250. Session recordings will not be available for this course.

Wednesday, September 16, 2026

  • 8:45–9:00 am — Welcome and Introduction (Christopher Palmer)
  • 9:00–9:45 am — Mental Health and Metabolic Health: Connecting the Mind, Brain, and Body (Christopher Palmer)
  • 9:45–10:30 am — Mitochondria: The Science of Cellular Health (Martin Picard)
  • 10:45–11:30 am — The Science of Bioenergetics in Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Dost Öngür)
  • 11:30 am–12:00 pm — Q&A Panel (Christopher Palmer; Martin Picard; Dost Öngür)
  • 1:00–1:45 pm — Aging, Mental Health, and Strategies for Resilience (Elissa Epel)
  • 1:45–2:30 pm — Immune and Inflammatory Drivers of Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Mark Pasternack)
  • 2:45–3:30 pm — Hormones and Health (Hadine Joffe)
  • 3:30–4:15 pm — Psychiatric Medications Beyond Neurotransmitters: Metabolic, Mitochondrial, and Systemic Effects (Mark Frye)
  • 4:15–5:00 pm — Q&A Panel (Christopher Palmer; Elissa Epel; Mark Frye)

Thursday, September 17, 2026

  • 8:45–9:00 am — Welcome and Introduction (Christopher Palmer)
  • 9:00–9:45 am — Metabolism, Metabolic Health, and Mental Disorders (Roger McIntyre)
  • 9:45–10:30 am — Metabolic Medications in the Treatment of Mental Disorders (Roger McIntyre)
  • 10:45–11:30 am — Obesity Medicine and Its Role in Mental Health Care (Greg Curtis)
  • 11:30 am–12:00 pm — Panel (Christopher Palmer; Greg Curtis; Roger McIntyre)
  • 1:00–1:45 pm — Nutrition and Mental Health (Felice Jacka)
  • 1:45–2:30 pm — Ultra Processed Food Addiction (Ashley Gearhardt)
  • 2:45–3:30 pm — Eating Disorders (Guido Frank)
  • 3:30–4:15 pm — The Ketogenic Diet in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Christopher Palmer)
  • 4:15–5:00 pm — Panel (Christopher Palmer; Ashley Gearhardt; Guido Frank; Felice Jacka)

Friday, September 18, 2026

  • 8:45–9:00 am — Welcome and Introduction (Christopher Palmer)
  • 9:00–9:45 am — Engaging Patients in Lifestyle Change (Elizabeth Frates)
  • 9:45–10:30 am — Exercise for the Brain (Edward Phillips)
  • 10:45–11:30 am — Substance Use: Helping Patients Who Want to Cut Down but Not Abstain (Roger Weiss)
  • 11:30 am–12:00 pm — Panel (Christopher Palmer; Edward Phillips; Roger Weiss; Elizabeth Frates)
  • 1:00–1:45 pm — Sleep and Circadian Biology (John Winkelman)
  • 1:45–2:30 pm — Relationships: A Social Determinant of Health (Robert Waldinger)
  • 2:45–3:30 pm — Light / Photobiomodulation in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Paolo Cassano)
  • 3:30–4:15 pm — Building Integrated Care Teams: Training, Workflow, and Payment Models (Scott Fears; Kristian Ranta; Mariella Glandt; Christopher Palmer)
  • 4:15–5:00 pm — Lived Experience Panel: Finding Recovery Through Metabolic Interventions (Maya Schumer; Iain Campbell; Garrison Grant; Frank Voce; Christopher Palmer)

Saturday, September 19, 2026 — Optional Workshop

Ketogenic Therapies in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders (8:45 am–5:00 pm)

  • 9:00–9:45 am — Ketogenic Therapies in the Treatment of Neuropsychiatric Disorders (Christopher Palmer)
  • 9:45–10:30 am — How Does the Ketogenic Diet Work? (Jong Rho)
  • 10:45–11:15 am — Patient Selection, Indications, Contraindications, and Safety Monitoring (Christopher Palmer)
  • 11:15 am–12:15 pm — Implementing Ketogenic Therapies: Foods and Ratios (Beth Zupec-Kania)
  • 1:15–2:00 pm — Compliance, Keto-Adaptation, and Other Challenges of Ketogenic Therapies (Denise Potter)
  • 2:00–2:30 pm — Is the KD Bad for the Heart? A Cardiologist’s Approach to Treatment (Bret Scher)
  • 2:30–3:00 pm — Eating Disorders: Can a Ketogenic Diet Not Only Be Safe, but an Effective Treatment? (Guido Frank)
  • 3:15–3:45 pm — Psychopharmacologic Management with Ketogenic Therapies (Matt Bernstein)
  • 3:45–4:30 pm — Lived Experience Journeys (Christopher Palmer; Matthew Baszucki; Iain Campbell; Lauren Kennedy West; Hannah Warren)
  • 4:30–5:00 pm — Q&A Panel (Christopher Palmer; Guido Frank; Beth Zupec-Kania; Denise Potter; Matt Bernstein; Bret Scher; Scott Fears)

Course Directors

Christopher Palmer, MD — Course Director
Founder and Director, Metabolic and Mental Health Program, McLean Hospital; Director, Department of Postgraduate and Continuing Education, McLean Hospital; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School

Dost Öngür, MD, PhD — Course Director
Chief, Division of Psychotic Disorders, McLean Hospital; Director, Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder Research Program, McLean Hospital; Director, LEAP Center, McLean Hospital

Course Fees

Role Course Fee
Physician (MD/DO) $795
Resident/Fellow $575
Allied Health Professional / Other $575

Learners will be able to register for an optional workshop titled “Ketogenic Therapies for Neuropsychiatric Disorders” on Saturday, September 19, 2026. The workshop fee is $250.

Accreditation

In support of improving patient care, Harvard Medical School is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.

  • Physicians: Maximum of 26.00 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™
  • Nurse Practitioners and Registered Nurses: Maximum of 26.00 ANCC contact hour(s), of which 8.75 is eligible for pharmacology credit
  • Psychologists: Up to 26.00 CE credits (session-by-session)
  • Social Workers: 20.00 Social Work Continuing Education hours (NASW-MA)
  • Licensed Mental Health Counselors: Up to 26.00 NBCC hours
  • Health and Wellness Coaches: Application made to NBHWC

Register for the Conference

View the full program on Harvard Medical School Continuing Education