Reflections on an emerging new science of mental disorders

This article reflects on the papers included in the Special Issue on The Network Approach and the Future of Clinical Psychology (Roefs, Jansen, & Fried, 2022). The emergence of major empirical research programs into symptom networks is discussed in relation to the research agenda involving the system dynamics of mental disorders. This research agenda is then related to major themes addressed in the special issue: the integration of empirical results into a larger theoretical framework, the role of mental representations and neurobiological factors, the problem of measurement error, and the presence of heterogeneity. Taken together, the generation of large scale research programs, the availability of new sources of data, and the availability of network approaches creates momentum that may allow us to take crucial steps forward in assessing, modeling, and intervening on mental disorders.