What is a Holistic Therapist?

So, what exactly is a is a holistic therapist? 

Last week we learned about holistic health and it’s different elements. We reviewed how holistic health takes into account all the different elements of health. Our wonderful therapist Erica said it best: to become our best selves, we need practical skills that encompass well-roundedness and work on strengthening all nine dimensions of wellness: Physical, Emotional, Spiritual, Social, Financial, Occupational, Environmental, Intellectual and Cultural. So today, let’s focus on what a holistic therapist can offer and what type of treatments are associated with such a practice. 

Photo by Elle Hughes

First, what type of conditions can a holistic therapist treat? 

There are a variety of conditions that a holistic therapist can treat. Everything from depression and anxiety to chronic stress and stress management to self esteem and boundary setting. Reset’s Founder, Kerry, specifically uses the holistic approach in conjunction with more traditional empirical therapy to help clients address these types of issues by guiding them in a way that helps them gain insight into how their emotional state, physical health, relationships, mindsets, attitudes, and spirituality are interacting with the condition. Such an approach encourages clients to see themselves as an ecosystem, rather than a collection of non-interacting parts. The process can reveal areas of misalignment and help in identifying root causes. For example, when someone seeks therapy help because their energy levels have been unbearably low for the last few months, a holistic approach doesn’t only consider possible emotional and mental health stressors as potential causes but also questions if there might be a physical cause, such as an iron deficiency, related to the issue. 

What techniques or interventions are used by a holistic therapist? 

Mindfulness and meditation

While mindfulness and meditation have been around for hundreds of years, it made its way into the word of neuroscience and medicine around the 1970s, when Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn popularized the term as a secular term in order to make it more usable in research studies. By the late 1970s, Dr. Kabat-Zinn introduced a groundbreaking program called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), which showed that after 10 weeks of mindfulness training, 65% of the patients showed more than a third reduction in their pain. Following this program, more benefits of mindfulness have been reported. At Reset, the majority of our therapists use mindfulness as an approach to treatment. If this is something that is of interest to you, look no further, we have can help! Bridget is also a Certified Health Coach, from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which allows her to holistically assess a client’s lifestyle habits and offer guidance for making adjustments that benefit a client’s emotional health. Sam also integrates mindfulness and meditations into her sessions to help clients connect with their feelings, their needs, and their whole bodies more deeply and fully in order to shift and heal.

Yoga Therapy

Yoga has long been used as a tool to align the body and the mind. The alignment of the breath to our movement can help bridge the gap between our brain and body and reveal/heal certain issues. Yoga is a type of mindfulness practice and the psychological benefits of yoga have been shown to come from four explicit key elements: breath, mindfulness/meditation, relationships with self and connection with the body. Furthermore, the following mental health disorders have been shown to benefit from yoga therapy: anxiety-based disorders, trauma, eating disorders, substance abuse and mood disorders. One of our yoga therapists, Caitie, works with both adolescents and adults and she offers a accessible and deeply caring space for every person to explore themselves and feel empowered to take control of their emotional health and behaviors.

Art Therapy

Sometimes words fail. Sometimes we just don’t have the words yet. And sometimes, things are just too big to be said out loud. This is when art therapy can help a client process the things that need to be processed and treated without forcing them to talk. Our therapist, Kyle, has an art background and “began her journey in self-understanding through art and believes that knowing who we are and what we want is the key to self-empowerment. She sees life as an inherently creative process and believes that when we are able to live mindfully and in alignment with our truest selves, we can become powerful creators.” Some of the techniques she uses include visualizations and art-based intuitive exercises to help clients get in touch with their inner voice, values, goals and dreams. 

Other techniques: Sound Bathing, Acupuncture, Hypnotherapy 

There are other techniques used in holistic health depending on the needs and wants of the clients. Sound bathing can be used as a relaxation technique whereby the client is “bathing” in different types of musical sounds, releasing stressors and aligning body and mind. Acupuncture uses tiny needles in different points of the body to release tension. And hypnotherapy is a “guided hypnosis, or a trance-like state of focus and concentration achieved with the help of a clinical hypnotherapist.”

Does the holistic approach work? 

While holistic approaches have less empirical research behind it than traditional talk therapy, many people find enhanced benefits from these approaches. Part of the reason that holistic approaches haven’t been studied as much is because unlike trying to observe the progression or improvement of symptoms of, say, depression, trying to observe if a person is truly aligning their mind and body is much more difficult. Plus, each client has individualized needs and preferences (for example, are they more visual or auditory based?) which creates varied treatment plans and this variation doesn’t lend itself well to empirical study. 

These holistic approaches, however, when used by a licensed therapist, counselor or coach, are often combined with a more traditional, evidence based approach. This is why it’s important to ask and understand the qualifications and philosophy held by your therapist before engaging in deeper work. 

Who might benefit from holistic health?

Holistic therapists are usually less likely to jump into using medication as the main tool of managing or recovery straight away. So if you are a person who is interested in investigating alternative routes to wellness, without medication, a holistic therapist might be for you. 

Remember, a therapist is a relationship. Sometimes the first one you see, or even the second or third, might not mesh well with your style and needs. This is why Reset is intentionally composed of a diverse team of therapists who take different approaches and meet different needs of our community. 

As you explore potential options, you can use this little reference guide below to keep track of whether or not you want to continue with your current therapist or try another one. 

Warmly, 

Anna 

Anna is a blog contributor, meditation leader and teacher, and photographer. You can follow her on Instagram @skillsforwellness and find her blogging away at reset brain + body. reset brain + body is a mental wellness practice where traditional talk therapy is elevated through the integration of meditation, nutrition, yoga, mindfulness, art and play. Connect with reset brain + body on Instagram & Facebook, subscribe to the newsletter or contact us to book an appointment.