What Is Holistic Mental Health?

Holistic care addresses the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, and social needs of a person. In medicine, that may mean adding complementary or alternative techniques such as acupuncture, herbal remedies, or chiropractic adjustments. In mental health, it includes yoga, meditation, wellness, spirituality, and mindfulness techniques. Simply put, holistic healthcare looks at the importance of treating the whole person, not just their symptoms. 

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Do I Need Holistic Health Care?

Holistic mental health can benefit everyone. It’s a way of looking at your internal life and your external symptoms through a comprehensive kaleidoscope. However, whether or not you want to find a holistic psychotherapist depends on your goals. Are you at the end of your rope in a dying marriage and looking for someone to help you get help or get out? You might need last-ditch couples counseling. Are you in a newly blended family and looking for immediate help managing conflict? A family therapist might be the right choice. Are you looking for ways to manage stress, reduce anxiety, replace addictive behaviors, or find your way through a major life transition? A holistic approach might be just what the doctor ordered. 

People experiencing mental health issues, especially depression and anxiety, may experience physical pain as a symptom or may have a lower threshold for pain tolerance. Conversely, adults living with chronic pain are at higher risk for developing depression, anxiety, and substance use disorders. Studies show that mindfulness techniques can reduce the perception of pain in people with acute, chronic, and terminal illnesses. In fact, one study led by Eric Garland, PhD, director of the Center on Mindfulness and Integrative Health Intervention Development, found that 15 minutes of focused meditation reduced pain by up to 30% – about the amount of relief provided by a starting dose of opiate painkillers. Garland has pioneered a mindfulness technique called Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE), which has proven effective in treating addiction, chronic pain, and psychiatric symptoms. 

With high expectations and a scary world, our teens are experiencing more mental health disorders, including anxiety and addiction, than ever before. Recent research indicates that prioritizing holistic health in children and adolescents can improve psychological distress, physical health, and family relationships. 

How Does It Work?

Mindfulness & Meditation

Everyone is breathing, but most of us aren’t paying attention to how. Some basic approaches for stress focus on breathing techniques that decrease heart rate and muscle tension, such as box breathing, where one inhales, holds, exhales, holds, for 4 counts each - equivalent to each side of a square box, or diaphragmatic breathing, focusing on the diaphragm and abdominal muscles. Meditation may include somatic practices or a full body scan to connect physical awareness with emotions, or grounding techniques for wandering or perseverating thoughts that teach ways to focus on the present moment, such as the 54321 exercise: Name 5 things you can see, 4 things you can hear, 3 things you can touch, 2 things you can smell, 1 thing you can taste. 

Because mindfulness processes can reintroduce painful memories or reactions, especially in people living with Post Traumatic Stress, it’s critical to work with a specialist who can guide you through the exercises in a safe environment. Find a professional therapist who is trained in mindfulness techniques that can help with your particular needs, such as Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) for anger or stress management or Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) for healing trauma. 

Yoga Therapy

Psychotherapeutic yoga therapists help their clients focus on the relationship between the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems, also known as the fight, flight, or freeze response. Unlike a traditional yoga class, (which also reduces stress), yoga therapy involves observing and questioning clients in a clinical setting about their emotional needs. Together, you and your therapist will develop a yoga practice that you can implement when needed to improve your mental health and emotional regulation.

Nutrition and Wellness

With so many shakes, powders, and supplements flooding the market, seeking mental health for physical nutrition and wellness benefits may seem counter-intuitive, but it is a core component of holistic health. What you eat, what you drink, how you move, how you feel about your body, when you sleep, and how you respond to stress are all factors that affect your whole health. An integrative health or wellness specialist can help you set and consistently meet goals that will help you improve your physical and mental health. 

Spiritual Counseling

Most of us identify with a particular spiritual or religious belief, even if we do not regularly practice the rituals we learned as children. Spiritual health is key to our concept of ourselves, and our spiritual beliefs may be at the core of our relationships and behaviors. As we develop into adulthood or face major life events, however, we may question our core beliefs or our purpose in the world. Spiritual counseling, like all holistic approaches, does not dictate what we should believe. Rather, it helps us define what our core beliefs are and how identifying them can help us live fully and authentically. Connecting with the right therapist can be key to your comfort in spiritual counseling, so research counselors’ biographies if you are looking for someone with a particular understanding of your cultural or religious background.

Woo Woo vs Boo Hoo

Holistic mental health is not an either/or practice. Yes, you can still cry in your therapist’s office. No, you don’t have to wear a patchouli-scented caftan in an organic sunflower field (although you’d probably look amazing!) Your therapist may teach you exercises to become more aware of where you hold tension in your body so you can release it when your anxiety begins to escalate, but that same therapist can also help you learn how to set boundaries, reframe negative speech patterns, and live the life you deserve. 

If you’d like to know more about holistic approaches for great mental health, consider reaching out to connect with a Lifeologie therapist near you who can meet you where you are and help you identify which modalities might work best to help you reach your goals.