Overview Of Integrative and Holistic Wellness
Erin Evans, M.Ed., LPCA, NCC
The metaphor of a toolbox comes up often in the counseling room. We know that a well-stocked toolbox is important because a single hammer will only fix so many issues, and the same logic can be applied to our healing journeys; we need a variety of strategies because one or two will only get us so far. It’s for this reason that Scottsville Counseling Center has adopted an integrative and holistic approach to our work. Due to the common misconception or mystery around some of the practices, we wanted to take a few posts to shine a spotlight on the services we offer in addition to therapy. To jump straight into the basics…
What is Integrative and Holistic Wellness?
If you caught our post deep diving into self-care, you may recall that wellness stretches multiple dimensions of our lives--intellectual, emotional, occupational, social, environmental, financial, spiritual, and physical—and that cultivating wellness requires a personalized and multifaceted approach. Integrating practices allows us to pull from different wellness-promoting disciplines to best meet the needs and preferences of each unique visitor. The work takes a holistic focus in that it strives to address multiple aspects of each person’s wellness.
How Does It Help?
In integrative and holistic approaches, we utilize tools that are complimentary to the counseling strategies. The tools work together to strengthen certain dimensions of wellness in order to build a well-rounded healing process. For example, the gentle movement of yoga or walk-and-talk in nature can help move emotions trapped in the body more effectively than talk therapy. Meditation can help build insight into mental, emotional, and behavioral processes to speed and/or deepen the counseling process. Reiki, meditation, yoga, and nature can all provide avenues to spiritual healing that counseling may not directly address. Social supports can be gathered in meditation, yoga, nature, and reading circles whereas individual counseling does not automatically result in significantly more relational connections. Additionally, yoga, meditation, and nature may be more immediately accessible to people in their day-to-day lives than therapy appointments. All in all, integrative and holistic approaches increase the tools available to individuals and help to build more resilient wellness.
What Do We Use Here?
Currently, we offer meditation, yoga, reiki, and therapy in nature. People of all experience levels and wellness levels can utilize the services, and we take pride in customizing them to the needs and preferences of the participants. Future posts will take a deeper dive into each discipline and the practitioners’ stories, but here is a snapshot of each for now:
Meditation—a practice of building concentration and awareness using mindfulness techniques
Yoga—a practice of strengthening the body and its connection to the mind through controlled movement, breathwork, and meditation
Reiki—an energy-healing practice that involves using the hands to restore the flow of energy in the body
Therapy in nature—a practice of connecting with nature in a therapeutic way
Stay tuned as we continue to share! If at any point you have questions about practice, please check out the services we support by visiting Services | Affordable Counseling Services in Scottsville, KY | Scottsville Counseling Center (amandapatrickmft.com). There you will find a drop-down menu that offers more information on the topics we support along with our nature and outdoor therapy along with our wellness offerings. You can also email us at [email protected]. Better yet, drop into a class to see for yourself! A schedule can be found on the website and on social media.