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 HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY

What is it?
DEFINITION AND EXPLANATION OF HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY
The interdependence between body, mind, and spirit, is the foundation of holistic approaches to mental health therapy.  The term encompasses a wide variety of holistic modalities.

What is it used for?
BENEFITS OF HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH THERAPIES

- Treat the whole person as opposed to symptoms
- Manage symptoms and promote recovery with or without the help of psychoactive drugs
- Gain sense of ease in the body
- Can interact with animals, people, or use creative means to facilitate positive changes
- Can incorporate spirituality along with therapy and/or medication

Where did it come from?
HISTORY OF HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY
Holistic mental mealth therapy is a branch of alternative medicine practices that began gaining popular momentum in the U.S. during the '60s.  That decade ushered in therapeutic approaches including the Human Potential Movement and many body/mind therapies and renewed interest by the public in natural therapies such as herbs that offered alternatives to traditional western approaches of healing. 

Holistic medicine, including mental health modalities, gained the attention of the medical community after a landmark study published in 1993 in the New England Journal of Medicine titled "Unconventional Medicine in the United States - Prevalence, Costs, and Patterns of Use."  It opened the eyes of the medical community to what the public at large knew – huge numbers of people were already combining conventional and alternative therapies in their personal healthcare. Their choices were based primarily on the congruence with their own values, beliefs, and philosophical orientations toward health and life offered by alternative therapies.

What is it based on?
THEORY OF HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY
Contemporary holistic mental health practices may incorporate or base themselves on healing practices used in foreign cultures, folk knowledge, spiritual beliefs, or newly conceived or experimental approaches to healing. Some of holistic mental health therapies currently being offered include:

Body-Mind Therapies
Holistic mental health therapies often incorporate body-mind therapies that rely on innate instinctual resources, rather than medications, to bring about healing. Many have science and technology to support the basis for their effectiveness. Brain scans such as CAT and PET and neurofeedback systems are able to display the interplay among thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Body-mind therapies meld the advantages of standard “talk” therapies with the benefits of bodywork including techniques to improve body awareness.  This heightening knowledge of the body’s propensity to contain physical and emotional stress and injury aids the therapeutic practice, and assists clients with resolving issues that cannot be solved through the mind alone. Specific examples of body-mind therapies include:

- Somatic Experiencing
- The Hakomi Method
- Sensorimotor Psychotherapy
- Rubenfeld Synergy Method
- Synergistic Body-Mind Therapy
- Integrative Body Psychotherapy
- Focusing
- Neo-Reichian Approaches
- Radix
- Bioenergetics 

Self Help
Self-help usually involves meetings or groups who have similar issues.  These are often operated by non-profit organizations and provide member support as well as education.  The groups may meet in person or online.

Pastoral Counseling
Religious leaders such as priests, ministers, or rabbis provide counseling and support. 

Diet and Nutrition
Proper nutrition appears to have a substantive effect on the management and healing of mental illness.  Some research suggests that eliminating particular foods limits the severity of symptoms for those with autism, and many holistic physicals use vitamins and supplements to treat a variety of ailments.

Animal Assisted Therapies
Many individuals have benefited from interactions with animals under the supervision of a health care professional.  Positive outcomes include better social skills and higher levels of empathy.  Animals may also be introduced into group therapy to facilitate communication among the members and enhance their concentration.

Expressive Therapies
Dance/Movement Therapy:  May include dance or the Eastern martial arts, such as Aikido and Tai Chi. Abuse survivors may especially benefit from these techniques as they attempt to “reclaim” their bodies and are able to establish a strong sense of self.

Music/Sound Therapy: Scientific inquiry has revealed that music facilitates the body’s release of opiates and endorphins, chemicals that cause pleasurable sensations.  Listening to pleasing music and experiencing this chemical effect can increase circulation, regulate blood pressure and pulse rate, and improve posture.

Art Therapy: The process of creating art through painting, drawing, and sculpting may help individuals to free painful emotions, improve awareness of self, and attain a better sense of self.

Culturally Based Healing Arts
Includes traditional Oriental medicine (such as acupuncture, shiatsu, acupuncture and reiki), East Indian systems of health care (such as Ayurveda and yoga), and Native American healing practices (such as the Sweat Lodge and Talking Circles.) The common belief system is that:

- Wellness is a state of balance between the spiritual, physical, and mental/emotional "selves."
- An imbalance of forces within the body is the cause of illness.
- Herbal/natural remedies, combined with sound nutrition, exercise, and meditation/prayer, will correct this imbalance.

Relaxation and Stress Reduction Techniques
Massage therapy, Rolfing: The underlying principle of this approach is that release of muscular tension may release tension and pent emotions.

Changes in the Accessibility of Services
New technology has broaden the scope of the ability for people to attain services of holistic mental health practitioners.  Referred to as “telemedicine,” these new ways can provide a means for patients and practitioners in less populated areas to obtain mental health assistance or specialist knowledge.  Telemedicine can help practitioners directly interact with remote patients, and educate and train generalist providers.

Telephone counseling:  Telephone counselors practice active listening, present information, and make referrals to their callers.  Many people feel more comfortable beginning their mental health treatment process through the telephone, and provides access to those who may have difficulty obtaining assistance. A 900 area code indicates the patient will be billed for the call, an 800 or 888 area code means the call is toll-free.

Electronic communications:  Email, the Internet, and message boards establish information and access to a wide variety of resources.  Consumer groups enable a mechanism for sharing information, viewpoints, and personal experience on a variety of topics.

Radio psychiatry began in 1976 and continues to be popular.  Licensed mental health professionals field calls from callers concerning a variety of issues and provide advice, education, recommendations, and referrals.  Professional psychiatric and psychological associations have issued ethical guidelines for the role of psychiatrists and psychologists on radio shows.

How is it done?
WHAT A SESSION OF HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH THERAPY IS LIKE 
Sessions of holistic mental health therapy are unique to each situation.  Depending on the background, training and intuition of the practitioner, techniques will vary greatly.  Whatever the specific therapy, a holistic approach to mental health care is one that emphasizes the interrelationship between mind, body, and spirit. Most sessions will last thirty to ninety minutes in duration.

Who does it?
HOLISTIC MENTAL HEALTH PRACTITIONERS
Holistic mental health practitioners have the same requirements as traditional mental health practitioners.  These regulations for licensure can differ from state to state.