What is Holistic Therapy?
Holistic psychotherapy is an approach to therapy that considers the whole person,physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. Rather than focusing solely on symptoms, holistic therapy looks at the bigger picture. It acknowledges that each person’s experiences, values, and environment shape their well-being.
I take a holistic approach in my work, integrating sociological and culturally sensitive perspectives. This means staying curious and considering not just the individual, but also their lifestyle, past experiences, personal values and goals, family, cultural background, and the broader societal influences that impact them. Holistic therapy takes in who you are, not just what is happening. It is about the how, not just the why. It is What happened and not What is wrong. Holistic therapy expands the lens beyond traditional methods, recognizing how everything is interconnected. As a holistic therapist, my work isn’t just about supporting clients—it’s also about continuously learning, reflecting, and practicing what I believe fosters true healing.
How Does Holistic Therapy Help?
A core aspect of holistic therapy is the mind-body connection. Just as external factors shape our experiences, internal dynamics such as thoughts, emotions, and physiological responses, also play a significant role. Healing isn’t just about changing behaviors or thoughts in isolation, but about achieving internal alignment. It’s about integrating mind and body so that an individual’s values, emotions, and actions are in harmony.
Rather than focusing on “fixing” something, holistic therapy emphasizes integration. When the body and nervous system are in sync with a person’s thoughts, goals, and values, they can experience a deeper sense of well-being.
Therapy is essential, but healing often extends beyond the therapy room. This approach might include exploring wellness practices such as yoga, breathwork, time in nature, connecting with others, setting new goals, or engaging in grounding activities. These are conversations I have with clients to determine what resonates with them and supports their journey.
Who Can Benefit from Holistic Therapy?
Holistic therapy can be deeply beneficial for individuals experiencing:
Anxiety
Depression
Trauma
Stress
Relational conflicts
Isolation and Loneliness
Imposter Syndrome
People pleasing
Masking
Overwhelm and overwork
Hyper Independence
A desire for deeper self-connection and personal growth
A desire to connect with others at a deeper level
This approach honors the individual’s unique perspective and inner wisdom. Rather than following a one-size-fits-all model, holistic therapy moves at the client’s pace, allowing space for exploration and self-discovery.
A common metaphor used for this type of therapy is that it’s not a quick fix or a bandage, t’s an integrative, deep healing process. It doesn’t just cover up wounds; it explores them with care, helping individuals find lasting healing and alignment.
What Does Healing Actually Mean?
I often think about healing not as a destination where you can say, I’m there!, but as an ongoing process of integration. That doesn’t mean healing is neverending work, it can bring very real moments of relief, clarity, and peace. You can feel when healing is happening. Things soften. You can breathe more deeply. Healing helps you move through life with more ease and awareness. It’s less about solving everything, and more about feeling resourced enough to move forward in meaningful ways. When we heal, we are no longer in a state of suffering.
Healing doesn’t mean the absence of challenges. It means carrying less of the burden, finding relief, and discovering solutions that you can foster within yourself. Often times people find themselves thinking “That was doable!” or “That makes sense!” or noticing a lightness in their bodies. These are signs that healing has taken place, whereas before, it may have felt burdensome or too overwhelming to process or to take action. Sometimes, things click into place all at once—a huge moment of release and healing. But even those moments don’t come out of nowhere. They’re the result of all the small shifts, the subtle movements, the gradual work that was happening all along. The click isn’t sudden—it’s just that the timing finally feels and is right. And , sometimes, a life event sparks an aha moment—something shifts, and everything suddenly feels different. Sometimes, you hear something for the first time in your life and it instantly feels like weight has been lifted.- like “It’s okay to feel this way.” More of the time, when we become aware, healing is ongoing and happening through small internal shifts. Healing happens in layers, sometimes little by little, sometimes all at once. And often, we don’t notice just how much has changed until we look back and realize how far we’ve come.
I like to think of healing as a word that makes the process easier to grasp, but in reality, it’s so much more than something that happens at a single moment in time. Healing is lifelong. We are always learning, experiencing, shifting, and being shaped by life. Our bodies change, and if we can accept all these shifts and move with it, healing becomes something that is always unfolding as part of us.
(Check out my Blog, Embracing Life In Motion can Help us with Change and Growth for more!)
-Imuri
