Specializing in Integrative Mental Health, EMDR, CBT, Somatics, and Nutrition
A NEW PARADIGM FOR TODAY's NEEDS
What is Integrative Mental Health?
Integrative mental health is a new paradigm for understanding how mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety are impacted by several factors. The holistic approach to mental health recognizes that both the mind and the body work collaboratively to create homeostasis, i.e., a health stable state. When we experience mental health distress, like depression and anxiety, it signals that the system is not working in a healthy regulated way. Integrative mental health is based on research involving cognitive science, stress functioning, nutrition and gut biomes research, and physiological systems. The human body, as a feedback mechanism, is influenced by biological processes, psychological processes, and social processes together. Our approach is focused on the whole system mind-body approach.
How Does CIMH Differ from other psychotherapy practices?
- We provide a whole person approach that blends expertise in psychology, neuroscience, nutrition, social welfare, pharmacology, and interventions that focuses on calming not just the mind but the activated body,
- We are a collaborative practice that seeks to treat families and couples as a whole system. Our therapists have weekly interdisciplinary treatment team meetings to create strategies that will help the system as a whole.
- We believe that mental health symptoms like depression, anxiety, trauma, substance use disorders, eating disorders, and relationship problems are the natural result of past experiences and a sign of a dysregulated mind and body.
- We believe that many people struggle to understand how they can positively impact their lives through education, therapy, nutrition, somatics, and self-regulation.
- We believe in empowering our clients. Just because people may experience mental distress that doesn't mean that they aren't capable of changing their circumstance. We aim to empower our clients so they can create the change they want.
- We provide integrative tools that aim at soothing the mind and the body.
Care During the Pandemic
Due to the pandemic, we are only offering only online sessions. However, since in person sessions require close maskless interactions, we will be begin providing in person as soon as we feel it's safe for us to do so.
Do You Take Insurance?
We do not take insurance but provide documentation so that you can file for your Out of Network benefits.
What Factors Influence Mental Health
Psychological Development
Psychological Development
Psychological Development
Biology, psychology, and social supports and environments greatly influence how we experience life. Our psychological development occurs from our past experiences, neuropsychological functioning, coping skills, and ability to regulate ourselves. Many factors influence mood regulation, including brain chemistry. Most everything influences brain chemistry, including activity, nutrition, trauma and the relationships we have.
Stress Hormones
Psychological Development
Psychological Development
Stress hormones significantly impact wellness and health. A body that is constantly in a state of stress will most likely have increased cortisol. Cortisol can negative impact our mood, anxiety levels and lead to increased rates of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and autoimmune conditions. The impact on mental health is extreme. People with higher levels of cortisol report increased anxiety, panic, and OCD-type symptoms.
Nutrition & Gut Biome
Psychological Development
Perimenopause & Menopause
Did you know that you have more serotonin in your stomach than in your brain? Nutrition and the gut biome has been implicated in the treatment of mental health conditions like depression and anxiety. In addition, researchers have indicated that the gut biome influences symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder as well. Eating whole and balanced food instead of processed food may help deliver the needed nutrients needed for optimal functioning.
Perimenopause & Menopause
Substances and Unhealthy Coping
Perimenopause & Menopause
All biological females will experience perimenopause and menopause within their lifetimes. This time period can last from 10-20 years, depending on the person. This time is marked by decreases in sex-derived hormones that impact the mind and body significantly. Many women report experiencing significant increases in anxiety, mood instability, hot flashes, difficulties sleeping, chronic pain, and many other issues. Since our culture doesn't really educate women about the symptoms of these conditions, many seek help not realizing that their symptoms might be a result of this change.
Trauma
Substances and Unhealthy Coping
Substances and Unhealthy Coping
Around 70% of people have experienced some form of trauma in their lifetimes. Unfortunately, the impact of this is now being understood. Trauma can result in heightened stress levels, mood instability, increased substance use, and relationship difficulties. In addition, trauma doesn't just impact our minds and relationships, it impacts our bodies as well. While its devastating to have experienced trauma, our approach is focused on building resiliency and empowering our clients to have tools that will reduce the negative outcomes.
Substances and Unhealthy Coping
Substances and Unhealthy Coping
Substances and Unhealthy Coping
Substance abuse and dependency negatively impacts people's lives. Unknowingly, it is often a response to not being able to tolerate the distress that the person is experiencing. Most people when they try to quit a substance still substitute that substance for other maladaptive ways of coping. That may include using sex, food, shopping, social media, and video games as a way to avoid life on life's terms.
Central Nervous System Activation
Central Nervous System Activation
Central Nervous System Activation
Often clinicians focus solely on the mind with therapies focusing on cognitive processing, cognitive restructuring, and reframing, but they don't focus on what happens to the body when the mind is triggered. When triggered, the body becomes activated and often results in people saying or doing things they never would if they weren't activated. Frankly, when triggered, many people feel "held hostage" by their nervous system and have difficulties regulating their thoughts. Research acknowledges that this is the case, and when activated most people go into fight or flight mode, freeze states or people pleasing . We work to help people learn better tools to calm and bring back to safety central nervous system activation.