Human Nature and Mental Health:
A Bahá'í-Inspired Perspective

by Michael L. Penn

About: The Bahá’í Faith is the newest of the world’s religions and has articulated a concept of the human mind that is likely to have a significant impact on the practice of psychiatry and psychotherapy in the decades and centuries ahead. This impact will result from the increasing number of researchers and practitioners whose work is influenced by Bahá’í-inspired theories of mind and identity. The purpose of this paper is to provide a brief and generally accessible overview of one research-practitioner’s understanding of the nature of mind from the perspective of the Bahá’í teachings and to explore some of the implications of this view for understanding mental health and mental illness.