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:

  1. Health-promoting lifestyle changes
  2. Evidence-based integrative therapies and healing practices
  3. 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.