What is Mind-Body Psychotherapy?

The mind and body are profoundly interconnected. That's why healing interventions that incorporate both the mind and the body are so powerful and transformative. Mind-Body Psychotherapy is an approach to healing and growth that looks at a person as an integrated whole, mind, body, and sprit. Techniques may include mindfulness, yoga therapy, meditation, mantra and guided imagery and can be integrated into your psychotherapy experience to increase your resilience and facilitate your healing and transformation process. I am so incredibly grateful to have these beautiful philosophies and evidence-based techniques to help my clients become emotionally healthy and create the life they desire.

Mindfulness is a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations. Mindfulness has become increasingly utilized in psychotherapy.  Brain studies show that thoughts directly influence our body’s physical response. Depending on our thoughts, our brain/body can respond with either neurotransmitters of stress, or those of calm and relaxation. If we want to change how we think and feel about anything, we must first manage our state of mind and thoughts. Mindfulness used in conjunction with traditional psychotherapy  often result in quicker insights, greater self- acceptance and lasting progress. When practicing mindfulness, you may be more open to considering alternative attitudes and ways of being that will help you reach your goals. 

The individualized application of yoga techniques and principles for therapeutic purposes is called Yoga Therapy. Combining traditional talk therapy and the philosophy and physical practice of yoga has a wide range of mental and physical health benefits including increased body awareness, stress reduction, decreased inflammation, sharpened attention and concentration and calming of the nervous system. Some of the tools used In Yoga Therapy include breath work, mantras or positive affirmations, moving the body to circulate stuck energy, and releasing self doubt, judgement and comparison to others. As we become more self-aware we increase our ability to self-regulate, manage our emotions and reactions, focus and concentrate and calm ourselves. Exploring the connection between the emotional , physical, and spiritual self-while in state of relaxation can offer insight and healing into a variety of mental conditions including stress, depression, anxiety, grief and trauma. The goal of yoga therapy is to create better balance, to help you gain clarity, develop inner awareness, and move in the direction of informed action in your choices.