A few weeks ago I was teaching a weekend meditation program at the DC Shambhala Center, exploring how mindfulness can be used to unravel years of habitual patterns and defense mechanisms so that we can actually open up to ourselves and to this world. My assistant director, a professor, author, aikido practitioner, mom, and all around bad ass, used a phrase that totally captivated me: “Mind leads body, body leads mind.”
I have been in the mental health field now for over 20 years, and in private practice here in DC for almost that long. I have had the privilege of working with all sorts of folks – political appointees, case workers at local non-profits, doctors, nurses, lawyers and artists, folks training for marathons and Iron Man, and self-described couch potatoes. For two of those years, I had the privilege of serving as the Director of Good Grief Camp at the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, creating programming for grieving military children and their parents at programs all across this country – it was a humbling, rich, and inspiring experience.
With all of that experience, what I have seen over and over again is that healing from depression, anxiety, grief and trauma is more thorough and more lasting if the whole self is treated. The stereotypical view of psychotherapy with the patient lying on the sofa and the therapist, sitting somewhere out of sight, asking “tell me about your mother…” is outdated for a reason (but let me be clear: props to Freud for breaking the mold of medical practice in the early part of the 20th century and actually LISTENING to his patients, which was a wildly new concept for its time).
As western medicine is beginning to understand the relationship between diet, exercise, and physical health, so psychology is beginning to understand that engaging the body in healing our minds is actually… a real thing.
Body leads mind: walking in nature heals; a diet rich in a variety of whole foods heals; active participation with others in a volunteer capacity heals; smart supplementation heals.
Mind leads body: mindfulness heals; gratitude heals; kindness heals; relationships heal; gentleness to self heals.
I’m so excited to offer this integrative, holistic approach to my clients, and to make this front and center of my practice with this new website. Who can benefit most? I believe everyone. Here are some examples of types of clients that have come to me in the recent past:
- People who want to try an alternative to medications
- People who are on meds, but feel like they’re not operating at their fullest potential
- People who want to take control of their (mental) health and want to learn tools that will help them build a life of resiliency
- Non-athletes who want to understand and explore the role that activity plays in sustaining feelings of wellness
- Athletes who want to incorporate smarter decisions about lifestyle choices into their ongoing training
