Episode 128 How Do I Find A Holistic Therapist: Holistic Short By Chris McDonald

Chris McDonald: Are you looking for a therapist who has a more holistic approach but are unsure how to find one in today's holistic shore? I help you clarify what you're looking for, the different types of holistic therapists, and offer resources and ideas for finding a holistic therapist that meets your needs. And it all starts right here.

On the Holistic Counseling Podcast, this is Holistic Counseling, the podcast for mental health therapists who want to deepen their knowledge of holistic modalities and build their practice with confidence. I'm your host, Chris McDonald, licensed therapist. I am so glad you're here for the journey.

Hey, and welcome to today's episode of the Holistic Counseling Podcast. This is one of my holistic shorts, so that means these are sole episodes that I'll provide you some amazing holistic content. But 10 minutes in under, and this is very hard for me. Sometimes I have to really focus to do these episodes, but I know how important this is.

I've noticed there's a theme among listeners, new ones, they usually listen to the holistic shorts first, which is amazing and I love that. And I feel like I've been hearing more and more about wanting shorter episodes. So that's why I've been doing once a month solo episodes and holistic shorts. So I'm hoping that will fill that need, cuz I know that some of my other episodes can get a little bit longer when you're short on time.

So these are available for you. So for today's episode we're gonna talk about something a little bit different and this is geared towards those who may be looking for a holistic therapist. Cause while traditional therapy. Helps many people and many people can find healing. There are a subset of people who want a more integrative, holistic approach to their mental and emotional wellbeing, but what exactly does it mean to find a holistic therapist?

How do we do this? Is it different than looking for traditional therapy and how can you navigate the vast landscape of healing modalities and practitioners? There's a lot out there. And some could be coaches. So you do have to be really aware of Litera, what you're looking for and looking in the right places.

So I'm here today to help you navigate that path of finding a holistic therapist that resonates with your own unique needs and values. And maybe you're just thinking someone who offers holistic modalities like yoga, meditation, breath work, or E M D R. Or simply looking for a therapist who just takes a general holistic view.

I've got you covered, so I'm gonna do my best to help you with that today. Well, let's jump in anyways since I have less time, so I can't meander too far off the bean path here. I, what I came up with was just a few questions for you to ask yourself. If you're on this journey, what are you looking for help with?

So I want you to pause for a moment. If you're looking for a holistic therapist, what do you need help with? Is it just one thing, like maybe healing from a trauma in your past, or is it couples counseling healing your relationship? Or maybe something else just dealing with generalized anxiety or depression.

So really trying to focus on that. And sometimes if we dig a little deeper, there may be something underneath that comes out. We find that a lot in therapy that clients come to us with one, one thing they wanna work on. But as we dig a little more and we build that relationship, more comes out. What is really what they're looking for comes out.

So just be aware that this may be a reflection question for your journaling tonight. What am I wanting? Help with another question. Do I want a therapist in a particular theory or modality? So a theory being like it could be act is a theory. Some, some therapists come from that, or I. Maybe somebody that combines some C B T, which is kind of behavioral therapy, which is more traditional cognitive approaches with something else like I F S, which is Internal Family Systems, or is there something else, one that I'm not mentioning, like using more of a mindfulness approach, which.

Can be a theory too, or a modality. It could be both. Or are you wanting some yoga in your session? Some trauma informed yoga or maybe some meditation breath work. So get specific cuz that's gonna help you and what you're looking for. Or do you just want someone who offers a more general? Holistic approach cuz some therapists, if you listen to my solo episode on how do I know if I'm a holistic therapist, I talk about this, that some people come on that continuum of a little bit more general.

They do look at the holistic parts of people and how that all comes together from a viewpoint, but they may not have some of these other modalities. So just be aware of that. The other thing that I've noticed in the field is not everybody who is a holistic therapist or counselor, whichever term you use, advertises as that.

So, so just, um, muddy the water a little bit. This makes it a little trickier as you try to seek through this landscape. To figure out how do I find a person? And before I get to some of the how's, I just wanna say this, that therapists are all different. We all come from different, our own different backgrounds and journeys and our own traumas.

So just know that you may not vibe with the first person that you find, and that's okay. I always say that it's like trying out a pair of shoes. Not all of 'em are gonna fit right. They may fit great for someone else and they love it and they love this person, but you don't feel it. Just be honest with yourself.

That's another question to journal about. What kind of therapists would be most helpful for me and maybe considering if you've had therapy before and it's not been helpful. That gives you some idea of what you do want. I know I've had therapists who don't say anything until the very end of the session and that made me insane.

I guess that's how some people are therapists. They've learned how to do it that way, but for me it just, it just gave me more anxiety, felt uncomfortable, and I found another therapist who really jumped in more, offered more hands-on tips and was more direct. I preferred that approach. So just, just be thinking about that too.

Do you want more of a direct approach or somebody, somebody that's going to give you activities, hands-on things, or do you wanna just have more talk therapy with a holistic approach? Seeing it like how all those parts interact, intersect somehow. So just be honest with yourself. And unfortunately I know it, it's a lot of energy and work to find somebody sometimes that.

You really can work with, but know that it's worth it. It's worth your time and effort because that's what's really gonna get you where you wanna go to feel better to get some relief. So where do we find this? So I did look up some different services and holistic therapy just to see what was out there, mental health match.

Offers some holistic modalities. You can search, I think it's mental health match.com. We can put this in the show notes. So you can look up yoga therapy, mindfulness, neurofeedback, just for, to give you some, a little bit of background. There's nothing listed as holistic. So I, again, we are a newer area. We need to blaze some of these fields to make it more accessible, but this is what we got so far.

Uh, so again, you may find some people. People are holistic that aren't listing it cuz they don't identify themselves as that. I know this is frustrating. Psychology today, which is very popular among therapists, they have really good seo, so they do get out there a lot. A lot of people can find them easy.

They don't list holistic therapy. They list do lists like brain spotting, mindfulness, and LP neurally, which is neurolinguistic programming. Mindfulness, eclectic was the closest I could find a holistic psychology today. So that's one. Another one to look at. Zen Care. I did find that they offer. A holistic therapy search, but when I looked at the therapist, I didn't see anything mentioned about it, so I was a little confused.

So again, they may be more generalists. So really look at their profiles to find if and if there's a certain modality that's gonna help you narrow it down a little more. Also, look at what words they use, if they're using the words complimentary or alternative. That might give you another clue if they don't use the word holistic.

Those are other words to consider complimentary or alternative approach to counseling. I can also put on a local guide. I, I could, I had trouble in this area even connecting with a lot of therapists that identify as holistic therapists. So I created a Excel spreadsheet, um, very simple that lists people in the area, had them actually write in, put it in themselves of this is for the triangle area in North Carolina.

Unfortunately I don't have one international or national, but, and that could give you some idea of what w some of the holistic people around here with how they list their website and their services. You can also look up, if you're looking for a specific modality, like subtle yoga, which is what I was trained in.

You can also search for those that use subtle yoga. Those are, that are certified for the R Y T 200. You can search on there or. Look up brain spotting or E MDR certified. They have websites and listings, so that's another area you can look at. Any of these trainings often will have listings of providers.

The other thing you can do is ask primary care doctors, other holistic providers in your area like acupuncturists. Chiropractors, massage therapists, um, other Reiki providers. Um, they can also, cause I know I connect with them in my area cuz that helps me a lot. We kind of, uh, both refer to each other. So those ano there's another way to find, I hope this was helpful.

I know it's not totally specific. In some ways this is more of a general search. But just wanted to put that out there. So this ends up on another one of my shorts, and I appreciate you tuning in today. If you're a new listener, you have free access to my nine part email list course, how to Build Confidence as a Holistic Therapist.

In this course, you'll d explore different holistic modalities, how to boost your confidence as a holistic therapist, and how to manifest. Your holistic practice, so enhance your holistic journey today. Go to holistic counseling podcast.com. Scroll down, enter your name and email address. Again, this is Chris McDonald sending each one of you much light in love.

Till next time, take care. The information in this podcast is for general educational purposes only, and is given with the understanding that neither the host, the publisher, or the guests are giving legal, financial counseling, or any other kind of professional advice. If you need a professional, please find the right one for you.