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About 5 years ago my husband and I were trying to define what we did and the title Holistic or Wholistic Psychology is what we came up with. When I look online today to see how the term is being used there is a lot of confusing information. It seems that people take a little from here and a little from there and call it holistic psychology.
Wholistic Psychology (I prefer the root word of ‘Whole’ rather than ‘Hole’) is solid psychology with a mind-body-spirit integrative approach. So a person that says they are a Wholistic Psychologist must by law be a licensed psychologist first and foremost. A person that practices Wholistic Psychology looks at many different things that can affect a person’s mental and emotional issues.
Dr. Cherie M Valeithian, Ph.D. says it well on her webpage…. “Let me explain what I mean by “wholistic.” I believe emotional, physical, and spiritual health are interconnected. Therefore, in addition to addressing mental and emotional problems, I also discuss health habits (diet, exercise, etc.) and spirituality (that which gives your life meaning, whether part of an organized religion or not).”
When a person is dealing with anxiety, a Wholistic Psychotherapist will look at many possible reasons for that anxiety and therefore make wholistic recommendations for decreasing the anxiety (not just mental or emotional ones).
Integrative Medicine has taught us the value of looking at the whole person when they come to the doctor’s office for a physical problem. Wholistic Psychology does the same thing for a mental or emotional problem.
Wholistic Psychology = Solid Psychology Training + Integrative Mind-Body-Spirit Modalities (i.e. herb, vitamins, diet, flower essences, homeopathy, ETT, EMDR, EFT, meaning of life, spiritual issues, etc.). A person that practices Wholistic Psychology has many different “tools” in their therapeutic “tool box” they can use to help you feel better and move forward in your life.
In Light,
Dr. Tricia Seymour
