Hold Standard Holistic Approach For Addiction & Mental Health

By Author: Lacey Grant
Total Articles: 5
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The addiction treatment field has, over the years, become a field of dual diagnosis and co-occurring disorders. In most cases, addiction is not supported by itself, but rather as a disorder that is compromised by a mental health problem either in the present or one that stems from an early life trauma, abuse or other formative disruption. Today’s status quo addiction treatment programs, in many cases, are under equipped professionally to effectively deal with the underlying causes of addiction either on a clinical or philosophical level. Therefore, what we generally see being produced by the mainstream treatment programs is a lack of innovation and an extreme reluctance to introduce new methods or techniques that may take them out of their clinical and philosophical “safety zones.” This lack of creativity and willingness to explore and implement new and “out of the comfort zone techniques” does an injustice to the client as well as the field as a whole. Today’s addiction client is indeed different than he/she was some sixty years ago.

The client today may be younger, more affluent, better educated with ...
... a wide variety of traumas and complex life struggles that combined with again complex mental health issues, makes the client a challenge requiring a smorgasbord of therapeutic and clinical activities to overcome the complexity of issues.

No matter what the presenting diagnosis, the therapist never knows and can never predict what a particular client will “latch onto” (relate to) that may change their life forever and institute a lasting recovery. This encompasses basic areas that make human needs relative to mind, body and spirit. To carry this concept a step further, our therapeutic efforts must also encompass the environment in the healing process. When we treat a client for one, two or three months and send them back home to a toxic environment with no consciousness of or plan to heal that environment, we are doing the client a disservice by not addressing a crucial component of that client’s life. The addiction, addictive behaviors or mental health issues are symptoms of unhealthy states of one or a combination of these basic human needs. In treating addictive behavior we must reconcile to the fact that because we are complex beings with our own specific traumas, struggles, personalities, and perceptions “one thing cannot work for everyone” and if we try to force this to happen, inevitably we will see, as we do, high relapse rates, high recidivism and low success rates. Treatment for addiction and mental health must encompass a wide variety of clinical techniques and modalities that give each client the opportunity to choose and relate to “what best fits with him/her”, this being a “holistic approach”

There are many misconceptions of the definition of a holistic philosophy from treatment programs, therapists, counselors, clients and families. Many think that holistic thinking is new, new age, against 12 step treatment, against traditional medicine or practices, etc. None of these perceptions could be further from the truth. On the other hand, many programs perceive themselves as holistic or providing holistic treatment by simply adding a Jacuzzi or a Yoga class and calling it “holistic”, this is not it either.

Holistic Medicine
Holistic medicine is a term used to describe therapies that attempt to treat the patient as a whole person. That is instead of treating an illness, as in orthodox Allopath, holistic medicine looks at an individual’s overall physical, mental, spiritual, and emotional wellbeing before recommending treatment. A practitioner with a holistic approach treats the symptoms of illness as well as looking for the underlying cause of the illness. Holistic medicine also attempts to prevent illness by placing a greater emphasis on optimizing health. The body’s systems are seen as independent parts of the person’s whole being. Its natural state is one of health, and an illness or disease is an imbalance in the body’s systems. Holistic therapies tend to emphasize proper nutrition and avoidance of substances-such as chemicals-that pollute the body.

The concept of holistic medicine is not new, in the 4th century B.C. Socrates warned that treating one part of the body only would not have good results. Hippocrates considered that many factors contribute to the health or otherwise of a human being, weather, nutrition, emotional actors, and in our time, a host of different sources of pollution can interfere with health. And of course, holistic medicine existed even before ancient Greece in some ancient healing traditions, such as those from India and China, which date back over 5,000 years. However, the term “holistic” only became part of everyday language in the 1970’s, when Westerners began seeking an alternative to “western” medicine.
Interestingly, it was only at the beginning of the twentieth century that the principles of holistic medicine fell out of favor in Western societies, with the advent of major advances in what we now call allopathic medicine. Paradoxically, many discoveries of the twentieth century have only served to confirm many natural medicines theories. In many cases, researchers have set out to debunk holistic medicine, only to find that their research confirms it, as has been the case, for example, with many herbal remedies.
So how can we apply the holistic philosophy and practice to addiction and mental health treatment programs to not only improve the therapeutic approaches for our clients and patients but also to make improvements in successful outcomes for both client and program. It simply appears that what we are doing now with the standard addiction and mental health protocols presently in use is not enough. Let’s look at some ways we all can add to our program’s therapeutic arsenals using holistic methods that bring us forward from the outdated techniques, to ones that match the needs of our present clientele.

1. Foremost, let’s stop treating only the symptom and begin focusing our attention on the cause of the problem. (Perception Therapy®).
2. Get away from cookie cutter treatment plans and develop realistic plans that truly reflect and encompass the client’s holistic presenting problems.
3. View each client as an individual that requires choices in the types of therapies that work best for him.
4. Add a variety of therapeutic techniques that all promote healing.
5. Add or enhance physical fitness to include, nutrition, Yoga, cardio, and other fitness activities.
6. Consider spiritual healing to include all forms such as organized religion, metaphysical healing, and non-religious spiritual healing activities.
7. Bring environmental healing into the treatment protocols. When one learns to heal their environment, they also learn to heal themselves. Sending a client back to a toxic environment from a month or more of rehabilitation with little or no understanding of how to build and improve on a healthy environment would be doing a disservice to the client.
Being truly holistic provides each client with therapies that address in a non-judgmental or moral platform many positive ways to heal and obtain recovery in which they have participated and had choices. (Whole Person Healing). Remember, the best result we as programs or clinicians ever receive is when we can bring the client to their own conclusion. (Transform your Perceptions, Transform Your Life.™)
Perception Therapy® and Mind-Body-Spirit-Environment® are Registered Trademarks of Alternative Treatment International, Inc., (ATI Wellness), Clearwater, Florida. Both philosophies, psycho-therapeutic techniques and activities and holistic and alternative practices are the primary focus for the treatment of addictions and mental health disorders. A.T.I. is a true wellness program that empathizes mental and physical health and health practices for its addiction and mental health clients. With this focus on health rather than sickness, our nine years of outcome studies demonstrate that less than 20% of our clients report a relapse episode in the first year, a far cry from the industry norm. Our client testimonials reinforce the same concept. Clients don’t talk about sickness and struggling with recovery, but profess a health oriented attitude, a change in perception and thinking, a life changing experience and a change in behavior without living in fear of relapse. Recovery from addiction and psycho-emotional issues can be a life long struggle if one allows it or it can be a stepping stone to a healthy and bright future. As one perceives is how one thinks. As one thinks, is how one behaves. This is the basis of Perception Therapy® and true holistic thinking. For information: 800-897-8060

Dr. Alan Meyers and Julia D. Stewart are the co-founders of Alternative Treatment International, Inc., (ATI Wellness) in Clearwater, Florida. They have developed, write and publish the trademarked therapeutic techniques and treatment model, Perception Therapy and Mind-Body-Spirit-Environment used to treat addiction and mental health at ATI Wellness, a private, exclusive treatment program in Clearwater, Florida.