What Is a Holistic Approach to Treatment?
Your recovery journey is more than just a journey to sobriety. It’s about rebuilding a lifestyle conducive to your mental and physical needs. It’s about making healthy choices and prioritizing self-care. It’s about being mindful of your entire well-being. During your recovery journey, you will learn skills that will help you build and maintain relationships, manage your thoughts and emotions, and ultimately become the best version of yourself. A holistic approach to treatment attends to all of your needs. It is mindful of how mental, physical, social, and spiritual needs affect one another. In addition, this approach considers the type of choices you can make across all areas of your life to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
A Holistic Approach
Holistic care can be applied to both physical and psychological health. It’s an approach used across many fields. Instead of only focusing on the physical aspects of an illness, a physician might consider how your mental and spiritual health are affected. For instance, if you are struggling with a heart condition, a doctor might prescribe you medication and recommend stress-reductive exercises. Prescribing medication will reduce physical symptoms, while prescribing stress-reductive exercises will reduce emotional symptoms. The philosophy behind a holistic approach is that all aspects of your health, mind, body, and spirit affect one another and should be taken into account during treatment.
Mind, Body, & Spirit
When it comes to your overall well-being, the mind refers to your emotional and social health. Healing the mind may involve psychotherapy, cognitive exercises, and behavioral changes. Your body refers to physical treatments, which could include exercise regimens, medical examinations, surgery, and more. Spiritual health refers to your connection with a God-like figure and feeling at peace with the universe. If one of these aspects of your health is failing, the other areas are likely to suffer and vice versa.
Types of Complementary Treatment in a Holistic Approach
A holistic approach often involves complementary treatments that focus on different aspects of your health. No one treatment will be the solution to all of your mental, physical, or spiritual needs. Instead, different types of therapy may enhance other aspects of your health. Some types of therapy may not be a good fit for you, but the more therapies you try, the better your understanding of what does or doesn’t work for you.
Christain Counseling
Faith-based counseling targets both your spiritual and mental health. Among the more popular faith-based counseling is Christain counseling. Christain counseling can come in many different forms and be found outside of psychotherapy or integrated with it.
Both a spiritual leader and psychologist may be qualified to perform Christain counseling. You might be interested in Christain counseling if you are looking for spiritual guidance, strengthening your faith connection, or understanding how your spirituality can assist in your healing process. This type of counseling can help you understand your life’s purpose and help you be more at peace with the world.
Creative Therapies
Creative therapies such as art and music therapy can help you heal by providing an outlet to understand and process your feelings. Music therapy can restore emotional balance and help with stress reduction. Art therapy can be used to help you find meaning through pictures and expression in a visual medium. Creating a visual representation of your thoughts and feelings can help you better understand them.
Practicing Mindfulness
Mindfulness is a popular practice among clinicians that can improve many types of mental health disorders. The practice of mindfulness is about living in the present moment by connecting and bringing awareness to your surroundings. When you practice mindfulness, you become aware of your thoughts and emotions and what you see, feel, and hear. Being aware of all your senses will allow you to be physically and emotionally present.
An important aspect of mindfulness is processing your surroundings without judgment. Mindfulness is most commonly practiced through meditation, yoga, and thought exercises. Accepting the state of your mind and body in the present moment can help you process your emotions and destress.
Nature & Exercise
The health benefits of nature and exercise are numerous. Nature allows the body to destress and can result in lower blood pressure, elevated mood, and better sleep. Exercise can similarly have positive effects on both your physical and mental health. Physically, working your body can strengthen your muscles, increase your stamina, help with chronic illnesses like heart conditions and strengthen your bones.
The mental health benefits of exercise are more immediate than the physical ones. After you exercise, you might feel an immediate boost in your mood, a decrease in anxiety, and a better ability to focus. These benefits can come from strenuous exercise or simply making time to move your body every day.
A holistic approach to treatment will help you have a successful recovery journey by nurturing various aspects of your well-being. Restoration Recovery Center has treatments available to assist in all aspects of your health. We offer Christain counseling, outdoor activities, mindfulness practices, and more. Our mental health professionals can work with you to create a treatment plan that is specific to your mental, physical, and spiritual needs. We take the time to know all of our patients as more than just a number. If you or someone you know is struggling with substance use, please call (888) 290-0925 to learn how we can help you achieve long-term sobriety through treatments that focus on the body, mind, and spirit.
