Mental health is one of the vital aspect of overall well-being. You may be looking for holistic counselling and psychotherapy, but wondering what that really means. You’re not alone!
What is Holistic Psychotherapy?
“Holism” means different things in different contexts, so let’s make things a little clearer about what you might look for in your search for a holistic psychotherapy clinic.
For most of the last century psychology and psychotherapy followed a philosophy known as “dualism,” believing that the human mind was separate from the body and the body was separate from the mind. This understanding of human nature has been around for thousands of years and is still expressed in many cultures and religions around the globe.
In this view, the job of psychology and psychotherapy was to address the non-physical needs of patients and leave medicine to address their physical needs.
But in other, less official channels, the idea that the body affects the mind, and the mind affects the body, was carried out in folk medicine, magic, and more esoteric religions. This holistic or even naturopathic tradition was revised in a twist of fate in the twentieth century.
Psychiatry, influenced by advances in medicine, revived the question of whether treating the body with drugs could bring relief to the mind. No less a figure than Sigmund Freud experimented with cocaine (though he was unaware of the dangers).
How Did The Concept Of Holistic Psychotherapy Develop?
By the middle of the twentieth century, psychopharmacology had established the usefulness of certain anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications. Paired with considerations of a healthy lifestyle such as diet, exercise, and sleep, holistic psychiatry was able to help millions of people live a better life.
Many people, however, wound up putting a little too much faith in psychiatry and forgot the “holistic” part. It became the popular belief that simply taking the right medication in the right dosage would solve every psychological problem. By the end of the twentieth century, that myth was busted.
In fact, the limitations of psychopharmacology as a stand-alone solution soon became evident. Some conditions, such as personality disorders, can’t be treated by any medications, and for other conditions medication can be helpful but requires psychotherapy for improvement beyond temporary symptom relief.
Today a modern holistic psychotherapy clinic will encourage its clients to address psychiatric and psychological symptoms with a multifaceted approach. Practitioners who are current in their approach will recognize several key things once they accept that the body and the mind are inseparable and intimately linked.
How Does Holistic Psychotherapy Work?
If we say that thoughts are formed in the mind, we can say that emotions are formed in the body. We could say that thoughts are our mental states, but emotions are our bodily states. Where earlier therapies such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) prioritized thoughts over emotions, second- and third-wave cognitive therapies such as Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) recognize that emotions are far more powerful than our thoughts.
Neurodivergences such as autism or ADHD, while neurological in origin, affect the way we process information and turn intentions into actions. For some of these conditions, such as ADHD, medication is helpful in optimizing brain-based operations such as executive functioning. For others, such as expressions of autism, do not respond directly to medication and can best be accepted as the way certain people are.
Some psychological conditions can be treated by medication. For instance, using medication may be the best way to address the severest symptoms of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. Medication may also be used to treat depression and anxiety, but psychotherapy could be the best treatment for lasting symptom relief and personal growth.
Most psychotherapy can be made more effective by leveraging the “somatic” resources of the body. Somatic interventions can assist psychotherapy in identifying trauma, and somatic strategies can help clients manage secondary symptoms of emotional dysregulation.
Some form of mindfulness should be an adjunct to almost all holistic counselling and psychotherapy. Whether mindfulness is practiced as a formal discipline through meditation, or whether as a simple practice of slowing down and discerning what we are actually thinking and feeling, some form of mindfulness can benefit almost anyone.
All psychotherapy can be made more effective by therapists who actively encourage their clients to gradually adopt healthier lifestyles. Therapists equipped with basic knowledge of nutrition, bodily movement (exercise), and sleep hygiene can provide support for lasting, holistic change.
Perhaps the most advanced holistic psychotherapy is the kind that engages a client’s imagination about what a better lifestyle would look like for the client. This vision should be customized for each individual client, taking into account the client’s age, medical history, body-type, and even personal preferences.
And perhaps the greatest contribution of holistic counselling and psychotherapy is the personal support of each client to make the changes they want and need.
You deserve to enjoy holistic service from a holistic psychotherapy clinic that recognizes you for the whole person that you are—and want to become.
Seeking a trusted holistic psychotherapist in Toronto? Book consultation with So You Need Therapy today!