What is a Holistic Approach?

Maybe you are hearing this concept for the first time, but do not know what it means to take a holistic approach to coaching or therapy. To be honest, if a holistic approach is not in place, then your life coach or therapist is NOT doing their job.

A holistic approach involves evaluating the mind, the body, and the spirit rather than a simple focus on the presenting symptoms or the perceived ‘mental health issue.’ The ‘whole’ of the client is a sum of the parts, thus it is imperative to examine the various parts which generate the whole. A holistic approach reviews and evaluates the mind, body, and spirit of an individual.

Partial only sees in part

After 27 years of experience in my coaching and therapy firm, I am convinced a holistic approach of mind, body, and spirit provides the best possible chance for clients to improve and reach their next level. This approach gets to the root of the issues rather than simply treating symptoms. Whether an athletic or performance goal, or an improvement in mental and emotional state, a holistic evaluation method is imperative to find those origins.

Every client coming through my doors receives a Recommendation Plan for improvement. I would be failing my clients if I did not seek to find the geneses of their struggle. Thus, yes, I assess a client’s habits in self-care and explore the variety of influences on their current mental and emotional status. The best recommendations derive from a thorough appraisal of mind, body, and spiritual practices.

How do we holistically evaluate?

We begin with a thorough entry process involving an 11-page Intake Form. This contains questions in a diversity of areas: goals, challenges, needs, what generates happiness, and what leads to stress. We look at family backgrounds and dynamics, relationships, friendships, team experiences, and any trauma experienced. The holistic Intake involves looking at education, military experience, job experiences, and any legal issues.

Since anxiety, depression, and a lack of confidence are normal experiences. The Intake Form contains short evaluations to ascertain the degree of severity or not with these concerns.

We cannot ignore any spiritual beliefs or practices. Every person is a spiritual being having a physical experience. Surveying a client’s spiritual background and current routines are included in a holistic approach. The aim is to discover how a client consistently manages different situations, emotions, and thinking. Spiritual values impact current status even if no spiritual standards are followed.

During our first session, we review the answers to the Intake Form and explore further with other questions to make sure a solid grasp of a client’s status and goals are understood. This is a thorough evaluation in preparation for a systematic improvement plan.

How do we evaluate the body?

Evaluating care habits of the brain and body remain a paramount feature of this integrated approach to coaching and therapy. Most mental health professionals DO NOT review this area, yet it is the primary culprit to most mental health and performance issues.

Poor daily health habits generate common struggles with focusing, anxiety, depression, energy, and performance struggles. For example, if a client’s diet is mainly processed food items and fast food, then anger, inability to concentrate, lack of energy, and unhappiness are commonly found.

With a holistic approach, we delve into water intake, quality of sleep, and typical daily nutrition. All three of these habits directly impact mental health and ability to achieve goals.

Exploring alcohol, caffeine, drug, and supplement history and current use obviously impact the brain and body. These are important to review. Any substance dependency or addiction are equally vital to know. Likewise, any problems or side effects with medication are critical to understand in a holistic approach.

Athlete or not, we want to know the daily and weekly fitness and training regimen. Any traumatic brain injuries, illnesses, and surgeries also are explored.

Last unique holistic component

The final component of our holistic approach comes from an online assessment each client completes following the Intake session. This assessment looks at four mental processes innate at birth. It provides essential information about the mind. It is the hidden gem to understand intangible elements of an individual.

This thorough Intake process provides key insight for the Recommendation Plan to move the client forward to goal attainment. This holistic approach increases the self-awareness of the client and increases the understanding of those supporting the client should they be involved. In addition, this comprehensive Intake method leads to the best detailed plan for progress and advancement since it aims to improve root causes to any mental health struggles. Having a clear plan for improvement gives clients hope things can change and their goals are just steps away by executing their plan.