The Future System of Psychology is Here
Neuroendocrine Metabolic Psychology
About Nem Psychology
Our Mission
Our mission is to provide clinicians with biomarkers, and training them to understand the patient as a larger system, which allows for more specialized care for the patient and a long overdue union of physiology and psychology. The implications of treating patients from both bottom up and top down is a renaissance in patient care and a paradigm shift in the field of psychology.
NEM Psychology Manifesto: Systems of the Future Reshape the
Abstract
Neuroendocrine Metabolite (NEM) Psychology founded and created by Tatiana Revox, (M.A. Psychology). It proposes an integrative, systems-based subfield within psychological science, aimed at bridging endocrinology, neurobiology, metabolomics, and trauma theory. Rooted in emerging evidence from psychoneuroendocrinology and systems medicine, NEM Psychology seeks to contextualize mental health not only through cognition and behavior, but through biological signaling pathways—especially hormonal rhythms, metabolic feedback loops, and neural-endocrine-immune interactions. This paper outlines the theoretical foundations, interdisciplinary scaffolding, diagnostic implications, and therapeutic applications of NEM Psychology. It argues for the formal recognition of NEM Psychology as a distinct framework within the American Psychological Association’s future development initiatives.
Introduction
The psychological sciences stand at the edge of a biological renaissance. Advances in neuroimaging, endocrinology, and systems biology have illuminated complex feedback systems that underlie mood, behavior, and identity. Yet current diagnostic models—largely rooted in behavioral and cognitive frameworks—often lack the scaffolding to interpret these biological signals with psychological precision.
This paper introduces Neuroendocrine Metabolite Psychology (NEM Psychology) as an innovative framework that addresses this gap. By integrating metabolic biomarkers, hormonal signaling patterns, and neural plasticity mechanisms into psychological theory and practice, NEM Psychology offers a new paradigm for understanding and treating mental health conditions—particularly those resistant to conventional modalities.
Theoretical Foundations
NEM Psychology is built upon four interlocking pillars:
1. Neuroendocrinology: Focuses on the bidirectional communication between the brain and endocrine system. Hormones such as cortisol, estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone are reframed not simply as physiological variables but as psychobiological regulators of mood, memory, attachment, and identity formation.
2. Metabolomics: Explores how metabolites—end products of cellular processes—serve as psychological messengers. For instance, kynurenine (a tryptophan metabolite) influences neuroinflammation and depression, while lactate may modulate panic disorder and fatigue-related syndromes.
3. Systems Psychobiology: Views the human as a network of nested systems, where psychological patterns are both cause and effect of fluctuations in immune function, mitochondrial dynamics, and HPA-axis regulation.
4. Trauma-Informed Neuroplasticity: Recognizes how early adversity, chronic stress, and relational trauma disrupt hormonal and metabolic homeostasis, influencing neural development and long-term vulnerability to mental illness.
Why a New Subfield?
Current psychological classifications such as DSM and ICD models fail to account for:
• Hormonal fluctuations across the lifespan (e.g., puberty, perinatal, perimenopause)
• Sex-specific responses to treatment
• Biopsychosocial contributors to treatment resistance (e.g., leptin resistance in depression)
• The interplay between microbiota, immune function, and mood
• Epigenetic impacts of trauma on neuroendocrine genes
NEM Psychology aims to fill these gaps by proposing a framework in which psychological symptoms are recontextualized as bio-behavioral signals that emerge from disrupted systemic coherence.
1. Biological Rhythms Shape Psychological States...
2. Mental Illness Reflects Dysregulated Signaling Networks...
3. Diagnostics Must Evolve Beyond Symptom Checklists...
4. Healing Requires Multisystem Recalibration...
Core Assumptions of NEM Psychology
1. Biological Rhythms Shape Psychological States
Hormonal fluctuations are not just background noise but active participants in perception, decision-making, and mood regulation.
2. Mental Illness Reflects Dysregulated Signaling Networks
Disorders like depression, anxiety, PTSD, and bipolar disorder often represent systemic imbalances in neuroendocrine-metabolic feedback loops.
3. Diagnostics Must Evolve Beyond Symptom Checklists
Blood-based biomarkers (e.g., insulin, estradiol, CRP, leptin), wearable data (e.g., HRV), and hormone panels should inform diagnosis, not merely rule out medical conditions.
4. Healing Requires Multisystem Recalibration
Psychotherapy is necessary but insufficient. True healing may require circadian entrainment, hormonal rebalancing, mitochondrial support, and neuroplasticity-inducing interventions.
Methodological Implications
Assessment Tools in NEM Psychology May Include:
• Salivary hormone testing (cortisol, DHEA, estradiol)
• Metabolomic panels (organic acids, amino acid profiles)
• Wearable biometrics (sleep cycles, heart rate variability)
• Psychometric scales adapted for biological variables (e.g., “Biometabolic Burnout Index”)
Interventions Might Include:
• Psychotherapeutic modalities guided by endocrine phase (e.g., phase-based CBT)
• Nutrition & Nutraceuticals (adaptogens, amino acid therapy, circadian-aligned supplementation)
• Exercise & Somatic therapies paired with vagal toning and breathwork
• Trauma processing through a metabolic & pns lens (e.g., trauma-triggered HPA sensitization)
Case Applications
Case 1: A 47-Year-Old Woman with Lupus and Perimenopausal Depression
Standard SSRIs failed. NEM lens revealed low estradiol, impaired cortisol rhythm, and elevated homocysteine. A combined protocol of bioidentical HRT, methylation support, and trauma-informed EMDR yielded full remission of depressive symptoms within six months.
Case 2: A 29-Year-Old Transgender Male with Persistent Anxiety Post-Surgery
Hormonal levels revealed sharp testosterone fluctuations and unresolved HPA-axis trauma patterns. NEM-informed therapy focused on identity development, endocrine stabilization and trauma renegotiation, reducing panic episodes by 75%.
NEM APPROACH: These results were achieved by first understanding the patient's unique gut microbiome, alongside blood work and a hormonal panel which allowed clinicians to assess the patient comprehensively and providing them with actionable steps putting them back into the drivers seat of change.
Food and lifestyle choices affect our gut microbiome and metabolic health, which affects our hormonal health which affects our neurology and brain chemistry, which affects our thoughts, feelings, behaviors, choices, and relationships. Without taking both a top down and bottom up approach, we are limited in our ability to help certain demographics make real progress and get the proper treatment.
Future Directions and APA Integration
To advance the integration of systems-based approaches in psychology, several strategic actions are proposed.
First, the establishment of a Division of Biopsychological Systems Medicine within the American Psychological Association (APA) would provide a dedicated platform for exploring and advancing integrative modalities such as NeuroEndoMetabolic (NEM) Psychology, functional psychiatry, and psychoneuroimmunology. This division would foster collaboration and innovation in understanding the complex interplay between biological systems and psychological functioning.
Second, the development of certification and continuing education programs in NEM Psychology is essential to equip psychologists with critical competencies in hormone literacy, metabolomic analysis, and systems-based case conceptualization. These programs would support clinicians in delivering more comprehensive and personalized care.
Third, launching interdisciplinary research projects in collaboration with endocrinologists, neurologists, and data scientists would help validate NEM-based interventions for chronic mood and trauma-related disorders, strengthening the empirical foundation for integrative treatment models.
Finally, it is important to promote the inclusion of biomarkers in future revisions of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), thereby enhancing diagnostic accuracy and facilitating biologically-informed therapeutic strategies.
Philosophical Contribution
Beyond its clinical relevance, NEM Psychology is also a philosophy of coherence. It honors the body as a messenger, not a malfunction. It urges psychology to reinhabit its original meaning—the study of the soul—through the lens of biological systems that whisper the truth of lived experience in molecules, pulses, and rhythms.
This is not a departure from psychology. It is a return—through a more integrative, embodied door.
Implications for Demographic-Specific Care and the Bottom-Up Paradigm
Rethinking the Direction of Diagnosis and Treatment
Traditional models of psychological care have largely operated from a “top-down” orientation—beginning with cognitive narratives, beliefs, or behaviors and working downward to affect physiology. In contrast, NEM Psychology is rooted in the principle that many psychological symptoms are downstream expressions of dysregulated biological signaling. This “bottom-up” model begins with the body—particularly the gut microbiome, hormonal axes, and metabolic substrates—and tracks how these systems shape affective states, cognition, identity formation, and behavioral expression (McEwen, 2007; Porges, 2011).
The relevance of this model becomes particularly clear when addressing conditions in populations often misdiagnosed or underserved within traditional psychiatric frameworks. These include women across the reproductive lifespan, BIPOC communities, transgender individuals, adolescents, older adults, and those with complex neuropsychiatric or autoimmune conditions.
Clinical Demographics and Bottom-Up Intervention Pathways
Women Across the Lifespan
Fluctuating levels of estradiol, progesterone, testosterone, and thyroid hormones exert measurable impacts on cognition, memory, interpersonal attachment, and emotion regulation (Brinton, 2008). Perimenopausal and postpartum women, in particular, are at heightened risk for mood disorders due to underlying neuroendocrine changes often misattributed to psychological dysfunction (Galea et al., 2018).
NEM Approach: Begin with full hormonal mapping and gut-brain axis screening, followed by bioidentical hormone replacement (when appropriate), vagal toning, and cycle-informed psychotherapy. Behavioral change becomes easier when biological scaffolding is restored.
BIPOC Communities and Epigenetic Trauma
Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) populations often bear the epigenetic and physiological burden of systemic oppression, environmental toxicity, and intergenerational trauma (Yehuda et al., 2016). These stressors dysregulate cortisol, insulin, and inflammatory pathways, increasing vulnerability to anxiety, depressive syndromes, and relational instability.
NEM Approach: Address autonomic dysregulation, allostatic overload, and metabolomic stress signatures through trauma-informed somatic therapies, nutritional interventions, and culturally congruent rituals that restore biological and social coherence.
Transgender and Gender-Diverse Populations
Exogenous hormone therapy affects not only physiology but also mood, interoception, and social cognition. However, few psychological interventions are equipped to support the dynamic neuroendocrine transitions that accompany medical gender affirmation (Nebbitt et al., 2021).
NEM Approach: Integrate hormone tracking with psychotherapeutic support for neurobiological adaptation, identity expansion, personality cohesion, and embodied safety.
Adolescents and Emerging Adults
Adolescence represents a high-risk window for psychiatric conditions due to neurodevelopmental remodeling, sex hormone surges, digital overstimulation, and poor dietary/metabolic regulation (Casey et al., 2008).
NEM Approach: Early interventions should prioritize metabolic stabilization, circadian entrainment, and gut-brain optimization alongside identity exploration and meaning-making therapies.
Older Adults and Neurodegeneration
Age-related cognitive decline is increasingly linked to mitochondrial dysfunction, microbiome deterioration, and hormone insufficiency—not simply brain aging (Picca et al., 2018).
NEM Approach: Reframe late-life depression and “brain fog” as potentially reversible bioenergetic imbalances. Employ mitochondrial therapies, hormone replacement (if appropriate), and life-review protocols to foster legacy-oriented identity.
Gut Microbiome Disruption in Complex Psychological Syndromes
Beyond age, gender, or cultural context, one of the most foundational systems implicated in mental health across diagnoses is the gut microbiome. A growing body of literature shows that disruptions in microbial diversity and intestinal permeability can induce systemic inflammation, immune dysregulation, and aberrant neurotransmitter signaling (Cryan et al., 2019). These biological alterations are not merely comorbid with mental illness—they often precede and precipitate symptom onset.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Children and adults with ASD frequently exhibit dysbiosis, including lower levels of Bifidobacterium and elevated neurotoxic Clostridium species (Kang et al., 2017). These disruptions are associated with increased behavioral rigidity, irritability, and sensory dysregulation.
NEM Interpretation: Autism may be better understood as a neuroimmune condition with gastrointestinal roots. Interventions should include microbiome repair, mitochondrial support, and sensory-integration therapies rooted in physiological safety.
Schizophrenia
Patients with schizophrenia show heightened markers of gut permeability, increased inflammatory cytokines, and distinct microbial shifts (Nguyen et al., 2019). The immune-microbiome-brain feedback loop may be central to both the prodromal and chronic phases of the illness.
NEM Interpretation: Schizophrenia may originate as an immunometabolic syndrome affecting neural pruning and dopamine regulation. Integrative care should include anti-inflammatory protocols, pre/probiotics, and vagal regulation strategies.
Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
Individuals with BPD display elevated CRP, increased gut symptoms, and trauma histories that correlate with HPA-axis dysregulation (Agorastos et al., 2019). These somatic underpinnings can intensify affective instability and dissociation.
NEM Interpretation: BPD should be viewed as a neuro-somatic disorder marked by misattuned interoception and inflammation. Gut restoration, metabolic balancing, and body-based therapies should complement relational skill-building.
Autoimmune-Linked Psychiatric Syndromes
Autoimmune diseases such as lupus, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis, and multiple sclerosis (MS) often present with depression, anxiety, or psychosis before physical symptoms manifest. Research now confirms microbial translocation and molecular mimicry may drive these neuropsychiatric features (Chen et al., 2021).
NEM Interpretation: Autoimmune psychiatric symptoms are biological phenomena, not secondary effects. Clinical care must address gut ecology, immune modulation, and psychoeducation around psychoneuroimmunology.
Rethinking Identity, Behavior, and the Body
The implications of this systemic perspective are radical: what we diagnose as personality disorders, psychotic breaks, or developmental delays may often be emergent outcomes of physiological incoherence. These “symptoms” are adaptive expressions of an inflamed, misattuned, or biologically overwhelmed system. NEM Psychology insists that mental health be addressed from gut to identity to behavior, in that order.
By restoring physiological coherence—via the microbiome, hormonal axes, and neuroimmune rhythms—clients regain not only emotional stability, but access to identity clarity, creative agency, and relational capacity. This reorganization of care promises to democratize healing and recontextualize pathology as a body-mind communication breakdown, not personal failure. Once a person is able to reach physiological homeostasis, what’s left is where clinicians can best serve patients through their psychotherapeutic protocols. Where there may have been a mountains to climb, may now be valleys the navigate.
Let's encourage the next generation of clinicians and psychological diagnostics to incorporate quantifiable biological data so we can expand the psychological landscape as technology and new research creates opportunities for visionary frameworks to arise!
References
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