Integrative

What Is in an Integrative Approach?

Integrative means treating the whole person including the self, the physical body, mental habits, emotional life, lifestyle habits and beliefs surrounding spirituality.  Each of these vectors in a person’s life is assessed and tracked through the individual’s journey to wellness.  I truly believe lifestyle medicine is a key to long-lasting wellbeing.

I work with colleagues  who are functional medicine experts and perform tests to determine where you are in these different realms of health.  I follow Dr. Keesha Ewers’ platform of assessing your DNA needs first by doing specific genetic testing and meeting with you and Dr. Keesha to interpret your results.  You can find a link for her test on our Products page.

Further, I do food sensitivities testing, gut biome testing and toxicity burden testing.  You can find these on our Products page as well.

ACE’s – Adverse Childhood Events Score

A joint study performed by the CDC and Kaiser Permanente was one of the largest studies to investigate childhood adversity, trauma and neglect and later-life health and well being.  What they found was that the higher the ACE’s score, the higher the individual’s risk for:

  • Depression
  • Suicide
  • Addiction
  • Poor work performance
  • Financial stress
  • Domestic violence
  • Psychosis

They found that ⅔ of the population experienced at least one ACE.  ⅛ of the population experienced at least 4 or more ACE’s.  We know combat veterans with higher ACE scores are more susceptible to developing PTSD. Why is this important?  Because ACE’s lead to inflammation.  Why should therapists care about inflammation?

  • Chronic inflammation represents illness.
  • Immune modulation is a key factor for symptom reduction
  • Inflammatory signalling is dysregulated in depressive episodes, mania, PTSD
  • Depression won’t abate until inflammation is brought down
  • Effective trauma resolution decreases inflammation
  • Psychotherapy alone for chronic illness is often inadequate
  • Modern lifestyles contribute to the problem

Where can inflammation be found?

By testing your C-Reactive protein and other inflammatory markers with a blood test and then testing for where in the body inflammation is specifically found and remedying that with lifestyle changes and supplements.  Inflammation typically starts in the gut and gum line and spreads from there to the brain, joints, organs, nerves and connective tissue.

There are many dimensions of healing.

When you work with me, my team and I will be looking at the following areas:

PHYSICAL A B C D
Physical Gut-Brain Axis-dysbiosis Microbiome Leaky Gut Food Sensitivities
Metabolic Regulation Hormones Insulin Genetics -
Brain Optimization Traumatic Brain Injury Mitochondrias Neurodegenerative -
Immune Modulation Infections Autoimmune Inflammation -
Detoxification Pathways Metals Molds Metabolites -
MENTAL A B
Beliefs- through assessments & surveys Flawed or Enlightened Being Broken or Luminous
Trauma Simple Complex
ACE’s Take the quiz Relate your score to lifestyle habits, beliefs, etc.
EMOTIONA A B C
Dominant Mood- through assessments & surveys and biofeedback Happiness Set Point - -
Lability Highly-sensitive Acceptance of situation in the world Ease of flow between regulated and dysregulated
Motivation Excitement about life Looking forward to accomplishments Vitality
Experience of joy or fun What is it that lights you up Helps you regulate Brings you peace
LIFESTYLE A B C D
Relationships Communication Isolation Attachment Style -
Sleep Insomnia Circadian rhythm Apnea -
Habits Substances Technology Disordered Eating Mindfulness, Meditation
Nutrition Diets Toxins Food Sensitivities -
Exercise Flexibility Strength Cardio Yoga, Tai Chi
SPIRITUALITY A B
Personal Spiritualityk Grief - Disconnection Meaning making
Cultural Spirituality Organized religion experience Upbringing
Belief in past lives or ancestral trauma Impact on current life Meaning making
Belief in Extraterrestrial Involvement or Abduction Experiences Impact on current life Meaning making
Events and Blogs

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