Holistic and Integrative Therapy
Holistic Therapy: Treating Body, Mind, and Spirit for Whole Person Healing
Holistic therapy advocates that the whole person can be treated at once — mind, body, and spirit – to receive optimum health and mental health benefits. We tried to answer a few questions.
What is holistic therapy?
In its simple form, holistic therapists focus on various integrative approaches to address the mind, body, and spirit to support health and healing. It uses evidence-based treatment and a holistic framework and is often tailored to the individual’s unique needs. It’s very similar to general therapy or counselling but often draws on complementary and alternative practices that the therapist may also have in their toolbox. It involves bringing all layers and aspects of our clients into the therapy and mental health space. In other words, it’s combining mental and emotional health with physical and spiritual aspects of experience. For example, a person with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may experience physical pain and trembling. They may also experience a lack of trust in the world as a safe, nurturing place. Holistic therapy can help address all of these symptoms, whether they’re physical, emotional, or even spiritual. Holistic therapy benefits There’s an emerging and growing body of research around the benefits of holistic therapy. Peer-reviewed research suggests that holistic therapy can help improve overall mental well-being and may offer benefits for:
- depression
- anxiety
- stress
- cognitive function
- family communication
- addiction
- trauma
- Chronic pain
Complementary, Alternative, or Integrative Health: What’s In a Name?
We’ve all seen the words “complementary,” “alternative,” and “integrative,” but what do they really mean?
This fact sheet looks into these terms to help you understand them better and gives you a brief picture of the mission and role of the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH) in this area of research. The terms “complementary,” “alternative,” and “integrative” are continually evolving, along with the field, but the descriptions of these terms below are how we at the National Institutes of Health currently define them.
Complementary Versus Alternative
According to a 2012 national survey, many Americans—more than 30 percent of adults and about 12 percent of children—use healthcare approaches that are not typically part of conventional medical care or that may have origins outside of usual Western practice. When describing these approaches, people often use “alternative” and “complementary” interchangeably, but the two terms refer to different concepts:
- If a non-mainstream approach is used together with conventional medicine, it’s considered “complementary.”
- If a non-mainstream approach is used in place of conventional medicine, it’s considered an “alternative.”
Most people who use non-mainstream approaches also use conventional health care.
In addition to the terms complementary and alternative, you may also hear the term “functional medicine.” This term sometimes refers to a concept similar to integrative health (described below), but it may also refer to an approach that more closely resembles naturopathy (a medical system that has evolved from a combination of traditional practices and healthcare approaches popular in Europe during the 19th century).
Integrative Health
Integrative health brings conventional and complementary approaches together in a coordinated way. Integrative health also emphasizes multimodal interventions, which are two or more interventions such as conventional health care approaches (like medication, physical rehabilitation, psychotherapy), and complementary health approaches (like acupuncture, yoga, and probiotics) in various combinations, with an emphasis on treating the whole person rather than, for example, one organ system. Integrative health aims for well-coordinated care among different providers and institutions by bringing conventional and complementary approaches together to care for the whole person.
The use of integrative approaches to health and wellness has grown within care settings across the countries such as Australia, India, United States, UK, and many part of the world. Researchers are currently exploring the potential benefits of integrative health in a variety of situations, including pain management for military personnel and veterans, relief of symptoms in cancer patients and survivors, and programs to promote healthy behaviours.
More on The Integrative service delivery model
Mithrah incorporates an integrative approach to facilitate the client-centric support plan which includes but is not limited to:
- Encouraging clients to actively participate in their healing, because they have better awareness of their desires than anybody else and respecting them as their first therapist
- Creating a holistic care plan for the complete wellness from an emotional, psychological, social and physical perspective
- Integrating therapeutic services from psychology and allopathy to complementary medicine and culture-centric therapies that focus on achieving the common goal of the client and therapist – the entire well-being of the client
- Promoting self-empowerment in clients because Mithrah believes the best care one can receive comes from within
- Supporting them and being part of the journey of our clients until they reach their destination and continuously improving the services by being up-to-date
More about Holistic Therapy
Holistic therapy is a type of therapy for various medical and emotional disorders and involves approaches that are outside of conventional, mainstream treatment. It takes a whole-person approach that emphasizes not looking at just any one aspect of a person’s health, but instead, improving and treating all the aspects of one’s life. In an integrated approach, conventional and alternative therapies are used together, such as psychotherapy and medication along with acupuncture and yoga.
How Holistic Therapy Works
Ideally, holistic therapy works as a result of a collaboration between a professional and the individual in treatment. They come together to develop an individualized treatment plan that includes both traditional and alternative therapies — such as holistic therapy. The holistic approach will utilize scientific approaches, focus on prevention when possible, and harness the power of the body to heal itself. In general, the goal of holistic therapy is to help a person gain a greater understanding of themselves and increase self-esteem and self-confidence.
What Does a Holistic Therapist Do?
Holistic therapists focus on a person’s physical, emotional, social, and spiritual well-being. They might use expressive arts, using dance, art, or music to work with people, or use mindfulness practices, including meditation and relaxation techniques, as well as physical approaches such as yoga or Tai Chi.
Who is holistic therapy good for?
Generally speaking, holistic therapy can benefit most people. Holistic therapists suggests that it’s especially beneficial for individuals with:
- anxiety
- depression
- stress
- trauma
Therapists who practice holistic therapy point out that trauma is sometimes thought of as a mental health condition, but it can manifest physically as well. According to them, the patients may experience symptoms such as:
- phantom pains
- pelvic floor dysfunction following a sexual assault
- appetite and digestive issues
- poor sleep
Therapists believe trauma is a complex issue and hence merely talking about it doesn’t get to the root of it or help it treat it.
What to expect
Holistic therapy may also be like a regular therapy you receive from a qualified therapist. Your therapist will work with you to develop a plan of treatment based on your needs, preferences, and experiences. They’ll likely do a thorough intake to understand your history before beginning treatment. There’s a wide range of forms that holistic therapy can take, and your experience will ideally be highly tailored to you.
Types of holistic therapy
Holistic therapy seeks to enhance the mind-body-spirit connection to improve well-being, lower stress, and help to reduce trauma responses. Holistic therapy often incorporates complementary and integrative therapies. According to Sumpf and Crawford, common types of complementary therapies included:
- Siddha
- Ayurveda
- breathwork
- meditation
- stress management
- general therapy
- somatic experiencing
- hypnosis
- cognitive behavioural therapy
- yoga
- acupuncture
- massage
- tai chi
- grounding
- cranial sacral therapy
- reiki
- sound bathing
- pranic Healing
- chanting or music therapy
- art therapy
Effectiveness of holistic therapy
Because holistic therapy is such a broad category, it’s difficult to make concrete statements about its overall effectiveness. However, some research has indicated that a number of different techniques used in holistic therapy can be helpful for certain mental health conditions. For example, one study suggested that holistic treatments including Reiki and relaxation techniques helped breast cancer patients manage physical pain and decrease negative emotional reactions to treatment. Generally speaking, holistic therapies tend to be controversial in the scientific community. In cases where mental health symptoms are more severe, is often recommended that holistic therapy be used only in conjunction with more conventional treatments.
How holistic therapy works
Holistic therapies are thought to work through a wide range of mechanisms. Often, holistic therapy focuses on integrating understanding of psychological and physiological processes. That is, it examines the possibility that a physical outcome (such as chronic pain) might have a psychological cause (like stress at work). The reverse might also be true; a holistic therapist might recommend a physical remedy like exercise to treat a psychological issue like anxiety. Sometime, holistic therapies are also based on the idea of energy work, which focuses on correcting imbalances and blockages in the body’s natural flow of energy. Reiki and acupuncture are examples of energy work in holistic therapy.
Frequency of holistic therapy sessions
The frequency of sessions may vary widely in holistic therapy. Some types of treatment may occur weekly, while others happen more or less often. Many types of holistic therapy, such as massage therapy and breathwork, are available as single sessions that you attend on an as-needed basis. A holistic therapist may also recommend a combination of approaches that occur on different schedules. For example, you might schedule psychotherapy sessions once a week, while attending yoga twice a week and seeing a nutritionist once a month.
Length of holistic therapy treatment
There is no set endpoint for holistic therapy. As with any therapy, you and your therapist will agree on treatment goals early on in the therapeutic process. This discussion should also include ways to measure progress based on your individual goals. For example, you may wish to continue treatment until you have resolved certain symptoms until you have learned enough to continue practising holistic techniques on your own, or until you feel that you have worked through the issues that brought you to therapy. Because holistic therapy is so varied and can be used even when no symptoms are present, many people continue to practice some version of holistic therapy for many years or even a lifetime. As with other wellness practices such as exercising and eating a balanced diet, there is no point at which holistic therapy ceases to be useful. The important thing is that you continue to feel that you’re benefiting from it.
Structure of holistic therapy sessions
Holistic therapy sessions often begin with a check-in about your current physical and emotional state.In group settings, sharing personal information at this point is often optional but can help the group work together to support each other and meet everyone’s needs. In long-term formats, this first phase can also be a time to check your progress since the last session and discuss how your therapy may have affected your life outside of sessions. Then, the therapist will lead you through a series exercises or activities, which can vary widely. Some holistic therapy sessions focus more on psychological exercises (such as meditation or discussion), while others focus more on physical exercises (such as massage or yoga). Many include elements of both. It’s also common for holistic therapy sessions to be somewhat educational. For example, the therapist working with you on muscle pain might provide you with information about the physiology involved and recommend that you work on certain stretches in between sessions.
What happens in a typical holistic therapy session
Again, holistic therapy sessions can vary widely; there is no typical session in this kind of therapy. However, there are a several common activities that you might encounter in holistic therapy, depending on the exact variety you pursue: Exercises based on CBT: Some holistic therapists incorporate aspects of CBT, including spotting and correcting cognitive distortions and increasing positive self-talk. Meditation and other mindfulness practices: Holistic therapy can include a variety of meditation techniques and other mindfulness practices. These might include visualization, journaling, and mindful eating. Breathwork: Breathwork is a common component of holistic therapy. It may be the main focus of the therapy or else a supplemental activity. Acupuncture or acupressure: These techniques involve applying pressure to certain points that are thought to correspond to the body’s energetic fields. Because they combine physical and non-physical components, these techniques are especially typical of holistic therapy. Massage and other bodywork: Your holistic therapist might use massage or other hands-on bodywork as part of your treatment. Reiki: Reiki is a form of energy work in which the practitioner moves their hands around you to alter your body’s energy without actually touching you. Aromatherapy or sound therapy: Some holistic therapists may recommend these sensory elements of treatment.
What to look for in a holistic therapist
Regardless of which kind of holistic therapy you choose, it is important to ensure that you work with someone who has extensive training using their techniques to treat the kinds of challenges you want to address. Therapists who practice various holistic therapies will often have certifications, licenses and registration to practice specific treatments, such as Reiki, yoga, or massage. Holistic therapists don’t always need to be psychotherapists. However, if you do expect psychotherapy to be part of your treatment, you should also make sure that your therapist has advanced training and is licensed to practice in the state where you live. Acknowledgement and sources: https://zencare.co/therapy-type/holistic-therapy