Holistic ThERAPY

Holistic psychotherapy, refers to a school of thought in therapy that attempts to address an individual as a whole person. Holistic therapy attempts to address the individual in terms of their mind, spirit, and body. Embracing a holistic view of human psychology allows us to take a look at how all areas of your life are connected. The goal of a holistic approach is to balance all the different aspects of the person, so the entire person is addressed in treatment and not just one aspect of the person. Holistic therapy is not just about analyzing the emotional state or changing thoughts and behaviors. It’s about all the ways in which people interact with their world and their overall sense of being. Holistic therapy attempts to have the individual gain awareness of these connections between the mind, body, and spirit using a number of different techniques. The goal is to help individuals to develop a much deeper understanding of themselves at all levels, which can often lead to improved self-esteem and emotional intelligence. Clients are guided toward self-awareness and then encouraged to lead their own journey through self-discovery and healing.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) focuses on identifying and re-framing beliefs and thoughts that lead to negative emotions and behaviors. CBT treats problems and boosts happiness by modifying dysfunctional emotions, behaviors, and thoughts. CBT focuses on solutions, encouraging patients to challenge distorted cognitions and change destructive patterns of behavior. CBT rests on the idea that thoughts and perceptions influence behavior. Feeling distressed, in some cases, may distort one’s perception of reality. CBT aims to identify unhealthy thoughts, assess whether they are an accurate depiction of reality, and if they are not, employ strategies to challenge and overcome them. CBT is appropriate for people of all ages. Evidence has mounted that CBT can benefit numerous conditions, such as major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and many others.

MINdfulness based interventions

Mindfulness is the non-judgmental awareness of what is happening in the present.  Most of us are operating on automatic pilot, rushing through our days stuck in behavioral patterns motivated by unconscious, self-limiting thoughts. Mindfulness allows us to reclaim and experience the fullness of our lives in the present. Mindfulness techniques include the practice of movement, compassion training, meditation, and breathing exercises.

Mind-Body Medicine

Mind-body medicine uses the power of thoughts and emotions to influence physical health. As Hippocrates once wrote, "The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well." This is mind-body medicine in a nutshell.

Mind-body techniques can be helpful for many issues because they encourage relaxation, improve coping skills, reduce tension and pain, and lessen the need for medication. The key to any mind-body technique is to "train" the mind to focus on the body without distraction. In this state of "focused concentration," a person may be able to improve their health. According to research symptoms of anxiety and depression respond well to mind-body techniques.

Mind-body medicine services involves a holistic approach that uses both conventional and complementary therapies in the treatment of mental health problems, as well as helping individuals with stress management and adjustment to chronic medical illnesses.

Personalized treatments are developed to suit each person’s lifestyle and strengthen self-awareness and resources for self-care. These treatments may include:

• Mind-body centering exercises that increase the relaxation response

• Guided imagery to engage the mind in the healing process

• Hypnotherapy

• Breathwork

• Traditional psychotherapies that have proven effective for depression and anxiety disorders, such as cognitive behavioral therapy

• Counseling on exercise, nutrition, and lifestyle change

• Mindfulness meditation

  What Are the Indications for Integrative Mind-Body Services?

  • Individuals who want to take responsibility for their well-being by addressing the effects on health of lifestyle, emotions, and social interactions

  • Individuals who want to connect with their body on a deeper level and feel more in control of their mind and body.

  • Individuals whom want to deepen spiritually and/or increase self-awareness.

  • Individuals who have not fully benefited from traditional mental health treatments

  • Individuals with post-traumatic stress disorders, depression, anxiety, and phobias

  • Individuals experiencing the effects of stress on their mental or physical health or relationships

  • Individuals with health problems that can have a significant stress component

  How does mind-body medicine work?

  When you are physically or emotionally stressed, your body releases stress hormones that can affect all your systems and organs. For example, stress related to hostility and anxiety can result in disruptions in heart and immune function. Similarly, depression and distress may diminish the body's natural capacity to heal.

  Certain emotions have been associated with disease. For example, hostile attitudes may increase your risk for coronary heart disease, obesity (especially around the waist), insulin resistance (which can lead to diabetes), and abnormal cholesterol (specifically, high triglycerides and low levels of high density lipoprotein or HDL, the good kind of cholesterol).

  While phrases such as "mind over matter" have been around for years, only recently have scientists found solid evidence that mind-body techniques actually do fight disease and promote health. In 1989, for example, a clinical study by David Spiegel, M.D. at Stanford University School of Medicine demonstrated the power of the mind to heal. Of 86 women with late stage breast cancer, half received standard medical care while the other half received standard care plus weekly support sessions. In these sessions, the women were able to share both their grief and their triumphs. Spiegel discovered that the women who participated in the social support group lived twice as long as the women who did not. A similar clinical study in 1999 showed that in people with breast cancer, helplessness and hopelessness are associated with lesser chance of survival.

  Other studies also show how meditation affects mood and symptoms in people with different conditions (such as high blood pressure, irritable bowel syndrome, and cancer). It also improves quality of life. More recently, researchers have found that mind body medicine practices can improve mindfulness skills, burnout, mood disturbances, depression, anxiety, empathy and compassion.

Breathwork

Did you know your breath is connected to your thoughts? The thought patterns which you have accumulated through your prenatal and perinatal period influence your breathing mechanism and your personality. Therefore, to transform your subconscious mind and its programming is through the breath itself.

If you have been fascinated by the power of the breath and would love to explore its benefits, here is what you definitely need to know.

Releases tension:

The process of consciously connecting the inhale to the exhale in a relaxed manner allows the breath to release tension in the body such as pain. This is mainly due to trapped and suppressed emotions. During a breathwork session, although many will have breathing deviations, with proper guidance and an open mind they learn to overcome them. What’s fascinating is that the deviations are connected to beliefs such as; struggling to survive, staying in the comfort zone and/or fear of death. When one starts to breathe freely and fully, he/she does not accumulate tension in their body. They are more relaxed and accepting to life. It’s worth knowing that this happens naturally and it cannot be pushed.

Opens up your consciousness:

As human beings we have the unique ability to experience episodic memories and with each memory we have a meaning attached to it. Interestingly enough they are ingrained in our cellular memory that keep us victims to our past.

What conscious connected breathing does is to allow ourselves to safely resurface those memories and breathe through them, which as a result will change the reaction and meaning we have to them. For example, Fredric Lehrman emphasizes the impact of our birth on all our actions throughout our lives and with each rebirth experience one’s old subconscious beliefs dissolve and integrate safely.

Achieves mindfulness:

Our thoughts are creative and they influence our reality. Whether we are thinking healthy or unhealthy thoughts our reactions to the outer world are based on what’s going on in our inner world. Our subconscious mind is continuously producing results. Becoming mindful of what those thoughts are and transforming them through breathwork anchors a new programming to the subconscious mind. Additionally, using self-empowering statements also known as affirmations enhances the mindfulness process. Incorporating these powerful statements during and after a session create a stronger and lasting results.

Guided Imagery & Visualization

Guided Imagery and Visualization are based on the researched concepts that your mind and body are connected that can help induce relaxation, decrease anxiety, helping to reach goals, manage pain and promote overall healing. Guided Imagery and Visualization relies on our five senses and imagination to create a relaxed and focused state of mind. In this state, the brain is able to engage in neurological re-wiring that will promote learning, creativity, healing, the feeling of being in control, decrease in emotional and psychological distress and physiological discomfort.

Guided Imagery and Visualization mobilizes subconscious processes to assist in achieving conscious goals. Guided Imagery and Visualization can be a part of a regular psychotherapy session or can be an individualized modality.

Consultation

Considering graduate school to become a therapist? Or perhaps you’re a new therapist trying to navigate life outside of grad school. I’m here to help you during this new chapter in your life/career. Already done with grad school? We can explore the population you want to work with, finding a supervisor, what to consider when marketing yourself, navigating social media, and all the other small details that play a major role in doing your job well! Maybe you want to pick my brain on all things from grad school to building a successful and award winning private practice?

It took me years to gain the knowledge and experience I have today. I am 10+ years into being a psychotherapist and I still love what I do and love to talk about it! Due to the demand and outreach I have received for my advice regarding the in’s & out’s of private practice, I now offer private practice consultation. The private practice I co-founded and co-own, Heal ATL, is one of a kind. If you’d like to talk to me about starting your own private practice and would like spend time exploring what that would look like for you, please contact me to set up a consultation. Pricing for consultations can be found under my faq’s page.