Holistic Therapies
At Solara Mental Health, we understand the interconnected relationship between mental, emotional and physical wellness. We also know that mental health disorders can disrupt that relationship, which can result not only in physical symptoms, but also in increased feelings of distress and pain. As such, our program includes holistic therapies designed to restore mind-body wellness and promote lasting healing.
Our mental health treatment center offers a range of holistic therapies, including yoga, meditation and acupuncture. These therapies can help a variety of people facing a variety of physical struggles, including (but not limited to) physical symptoms of anxiety, body image disorders, and trauma disorders. Through our holistic therapies, veterans with all mental health disorders can develop greater senses of strength, peace, and wholeness, physically and emotionally.
Meditation
Meditation is a habitual practice that has been used for thousands of years. It is a process of training your mind to focus and redirect your thoughts. Modern research has shown that meditation can be used to treat a variety of symptoms, increase awareness of yourself and your surroundings, and encourage the development of new neural pathways. At Solara Mental Health, we incorporate meditation into our comprehensive treatment program to help veterans developmental, emotional, and physical balance and peace.
Some benefits of meditation include:
- Decreased anxiety
- Lower blood pressure
- Higher serotonin production
- Improved cognitive abilities
- Stronger emotional stability and the mind-body connection
- Greater emotional control
- Increased self-awareness, both physically and psychologically
Mindfulness
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a practice used to promote emotional and physical wellness. This therapy offers secular, intensive mindfulness training to assist people with different mental health disorders like stress, anxiety, or depression. At Solara Mental Health our clinicians guide the patient through a variety of meditative exercises that are designed to focus on one thing at a time – each breath you take, each step as you walk, or the sights and sounds around you.
Benefits from MBSR include:
- Increased self-awareness
- Greater ability to self-regulate feelings and control responses to emotional triggers
- Heightened capacity for managing stress, anxiety, fear and depression, as well as the situation that may trigger those emotions
- Stronger sense of self-esteem
- Greater acceptance of and compassion for others, leading to improvement of interpersonal relationships
Yoga
On the surface, Yoga is simply seen as a physical exercise or a hobby you do on the weekends. However, Yoga incorporates and utilizes breathing patterns and physical movements to help the individual focus their mind on the present and release any physical or emotional tension. Yoga has proven to be a highly effective form of holistic therapy that can help mental health disorders like anxiety, depression, or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Other health benefits of yoga therapy include:
- Improved physical flexibility, strength, and endurance
- Lower stress levels
- Higher sleep quality
- Enhanced physical immunity
- Strengthened ability to cope with painful emotions or stressors
- Increased ability to live in the present
- Greater self-awareness and overall sense of mind-body unity
Horticulture Therapy
Horticulture Therapy also is known as social and therapeutic horticulture, is the engagement of a person that participates in gardening and plant-based activities. Gardening and plant-based activities have shown to be effective in improving a variety of mental health disorders and their symptoms. It is known to improve general emotional wellbeing, improve memory, cognitive abilities, task initiation, and socialization.
Mental health disorders that have seen to benefit from Horticulture Therapy include:
- Clinical Depression
- Anxiety Disorders
- Veterans with PTSD
- Seniors and Elderly with Dementia
- Autism
Individual One-on-One
Individual integrative psychotherapy gives individuals the opportunity to talk through their problems and address the obstacles they go through. Depending on the individual’s mental health disorder and specific diagnosis, this process can include a variety of different therapeutic solutions. The therapist aims to guide the patient to help them better understand their experiences and emotions. These psychotherapies help to improve the patient’s overall well-being and work to decrease symptoms to live and enjoy a happier life.
Small Group Therapy
Group Therapy can be more powerful and beneficial than an individualistic form of therapy. At first, joining a group of individualistic in therapy can seem intimidating but group therapy has shown to be very advantageous. Being able to engage with others who could be going through similar mental health struggles as you could provide a sense of community in knowing that you aren’t going through this alone.
Benefits of Group Therapy includes things like:
- Realizing he or she is not alone
- Gives the individual a sense of community
- Helps one find her or his “voice”
- Helps one relate to others in healthier ways
- Provides a safety net
Family Loved-Ones
It’s clear that an individual with a mental health disorder suffers greatly from the emotional and sometimes physical symptoms caused by their mental health disorder. What most people don’t realize is that their mental health disorder can have an emotional toll on those around them. An individual’s mental health disorder can oftentimes affect their relationships with friends or family. For this reason, the involvement of family and loved ones is critical in the healing process of an individual’s mental health disorder.
Additional Holistic Methods
We treat a wide range of mental health disorders at Solara Mental Health. We recognize that each individual can benefit from customized treatment plans.
Additional holistic treatments offered can include:
Holistic Veteran Treatment
Solara Mental Health offers holistic methods to veterans struggling with mental health along with evidence-based therapies. Treatment plans can be customized based on individual wants and needs. Combining holistic methods with traditional therapy can help with long-term recovery from mental health disorders that veterans can commonly struggle with.
Solara is a VA-contacted community care provider, which allows us the unique opportunity to help treat veterans with mental health needs. With prior authorization from the VA, Solara can provide housing, accommodations, and transportation. Contact us to find out how Solara’s holistic therapies can help you.
