Anxiety & Depression
An Integrated Approach to Anxiety and Depression
The relatively new field of integrative mental health is a holistic model that provides a useful perspective on brain health and the treatment of depression and anxiety.
Integrative mental health looks at the physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health of the individual and incorporates:
- Health-promoting lifestyle changes
- Evidence-based integrative therapies and healing practices
- Mainstream treatments, including psychosocial therapies and the judicious use of prescription medication
Optimizing brain health
While depression and anxiety are usually categorized as mental illnesses, we find it more useful to think of them as disruptions in brain health, which is directly related to the physical makeup and mechanisms of the brain, as well as emotional and relational issues.
You can change your brain
Instead of being a static organ that doesn’t change after adolescence, the brain is now seen as having a lifelong dynamic ability to change in response to its environment.
Neuroplasticity is the term used to explain the brain’s ability to change (from small cellular changes to complete remapping) in response to new learning, experience, or injury. This new understanding underlines the importance of paying attention to our brain health and development.
What we Working with your provider team
When suffering from moderate to severe symptoms of depression or anxiety, it is critical to have a working relationship with a provider, or team of providers, who can help you choose a treatment approach for your type of depression or anxiety and evaluate its effectiveness. An integrative approach includes psychosocial therapies and the judicious use of medication, as well as evidence-based complementary therapies and health-promoting lifestyle changes. The providers may include a primary care physician, nurse practitioner, psychotherapist, or other professional who is philosophically aligned with you, as well as integrative therapy providers.
If you are taking any oral natural supplements in combination with conventional prescription medications, it is critical for both the prescriber and the pharmacist to be know which supplements you are taking.
Risk for suicide
The risk for suicide often increases after early improvement induced by either medications or supplements, as the individual finds more energy and a sense of self-control. Support during this time of treatment is critical.
If there are any thoughts of or plans for suicide, a therapist, psychiatrist, or physician must be involved immediately, even if that necessitates the use of emergency medicine services. If someone doesn’t willingly request help, family or other supportive members of that person’s social sphere may need to intervene and engage services.
Disclaimer: The information in this website page is not to be used in place of medical treatment by a health or mental health provider.
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