[Introduction to, 9 Keys to Integrative Wellness, ©2023]

“Our ancestors were once also bonesetters, but for many generations now, we’ve focused on our herbal medicines. We’re the only ones in Iceland with permission to harvest at Thingvellir.”

“I fully believe in our traditions and the spirit world, But, above all, the shaman uses ritual to heal the minds of the people.”

“Trauma often underlies addiction; attempt to treat the latter without addressing the core issue, and relapse is almost inevitable.”

“The person becomes ill when yin and yang are not in balance – we say, ‘husband and wife do not communicate’.”

“Is it bodymind? Or mindbody? Which is the practitioner’s bias? Which is leading which? In the end: it doesn’t matter. We consider both equally. They are not separate.”

“A person’s bones, muscles, and connective tissue must be in proper positioning for optimal functioning. As an osteopath, I use gentle manipulation to rebalance a person’s core: their musculoskeletal system.”

“Stress itself isn’t harmful; it’s what a person believes about stress that causes the harm to their health.”

“The shock of discovering the drowned woman’s body caused a piece of his soul to go missing. I must travel to the otherworld, find the missing soul fragment, and return it to him.”

“Move a muscle; change a thought.”

“The patient’s condition is due to cold damp invading the spleen.”

“As a surgeon, I recommend conservative treatment first. Surgery should be a last resort.”

*

Healing and health care come in many forms. Around the world, we still have numerous indigenous systems of healing today, from the bonesetter and herbalist to the shaman and curandera. And while modern scientific medicine can’t always explain how or if they work, sometimes this may simply be because scientific methods aren’t yet capable of such explanation. (Acupuncture comes to mind. Once thought archaic or even superstitious, we now know that major points are located at or near structures of the nervous and circulatory systems.)

Center for Integrative Health Care was the New York clinic I founded and operated for 15 years, before moving abroad in 2005 (where I remain to this day). There, I applied a range of disciplines to each person who came seeking care; I held a graduate degree in transpersonal psychology with a health psychology doctorate in progress and a keen additional interest in positive psychology, had diplomas and licensure in acupuncture and massage therapy, and was certified in a number of other somatic disciplines as well as meditation and clinical nutritional application. I focused primarily in areas of addiction, trauma, perimenopause, and chronic pain, and was on medical staff at a nearby hospital where I implemented and managed the first acu-detox program in their addictions unit.

Integrative health care was my world at that time, and has remained personally relevant to this day. But what exactly is integrative wellness?

‘Integrative’ refers to the seamless combination of two or more elements. In health care, the term has come to mean the application of scientific medicine alongside complementary or alternative disciplines. Physicians referring their patients to me for pain management via acupuncture, for example, were functioning in an integrative manner.

This term can also refer to the concurrent use of two or more disciplines or treatment methods. When a patient came to me for depression, say, I would utilize a counseling approach but also review their nutritional habits, suggest that we begin with massage or other somatic therapy to clear physical tension (and psychological armoring, as bodywork often induces emotional release, to be later discussed), and follow this with acupuncture therapy to clear stagnant qi and rebalance the body. In addition to possible dietary changes, I would also recommend self-care in a brief form of exercise designed to complement the acupuncture, in tandem with a 10-minute daily meditation.

Sometimes, when a patient returned for a follow-up session and reported symptom reduction, he or she would ask, “But which is it? Did I improve because of the acupuncture? Or the counseling? Or was it the massage? Or maybe it was from the changes I made to my self-care regimen?” With a smile, I’d gently reply, “Yes.”

Let’s talk for a moment about health, transpersonal, and positive psychology specialties, all of which have bearing on integrative health care and wellness – and each of which we’ll see later amongst our 9 keys.

Health psychology (established 1978) is founded on a biopsychosocial model of health, and the health psychologist often works within hospitals and clinics. Focused on conditions with both physical and psychological components, such as addictions and eating disorders, stress management and weight loss, trauma and chronic pain, the psychologist collaborates with the physician in helping the patient to follow a health regimen, explore underlying emotional issues, and become a co-collaborator with his/her health care team. It’s the ‘bridge’ psychology with fair medical training and a mind-body perspective.

Transpersonal psychology (established 1968) integrates Jungian and humanistic psychological models and further seeks to reintegrate the spiritual with the psychological. It allows for a broad definition of ‘spiritual’ that is not limited to religion, on the basis that people’s belief systems are of great personal significance and thus essential to the understanding of mental health. The transpersonal view includes mystical experience, ritual, and altered states of consciousness such as trance, hypnosis, dreams, imagery, and visualization. Further, as ‘spiritual’ is also interpreted in terms of meaning and purpose, this specialty prioritizes the construction of personal meaning, sense of purpose, and engagement, which can also be found in other fields of psychology.

Positive psychology (first introduced in 1954; established 1999) takes as its premise a strengths-based approach for a focus on mental health rather than illness. Meant to complement standard forms of psychology, the field is based on character strengths and virtues, meaning and purpose, the ‘flow’ state of total absorption, learned optimism, and human flourishing. As a model it encourages one to identify and build on one’s strengths, and to fortify those areas that are less strong; its PERMA framework includes positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and achievement. This psychological approach is especially aligned with wellbeing and thriving.

Throughout my career I’d always worked alongside medical doctors and nurses, nutritionists, social workers, psychiatrists (and psychopharmacologists, which causes me to cringe today), osteopaths, and chiropractors, for full integration of disciplines. I’d pursued not only degrees in psychology but also those multiple complementary disciplines.

In my early 20s, I corrected my own severe hypoglycemia (with a family history of diabetes) through a strict nutritional regimen. I’d also resolved the residue of childhood trauma in receiving a single group healing application, despite my doubts as to its efficacy. Along with traditional Chinese medicine and its underlying philosophy of Taoism, I’d studied Japanese shiatsu, maintained a practice of mindfulness and meditation drawn from Buddhism, and had a longstanding interest in indigenous shamanism which had emerged from Siberia.

This broader interest in multiple cultures and their approaches to health and wellbeing ultimately led me to close my clinic and my New York life, and relocate to Northeast Asia. While I worked in Hong Kong holistic clinics, had a counseling practice in Korea, and continued to apply my professional background in a myriad of creative ways, I’ve never returned to full-time clinical work. Instead, I’ve spent these past 20 years studying the world’s health systems both indigenous and modern, as well as societal trauma and resolution. I’ve traveled to more than 100 countries for field research and lived in several, witnessed numerous shamanic rituals and other healing practices, and exponentially broadened my understanding of integrative wellness.

My personal health regimen includes a plant-based diet, daily exercise for flexibility, strengthening, cardio, and qi balancing, daily mindfulness including meditation, regular singing and dancing, weekly immersion in nature, regular journal-writing and creative engagement, twice daily mini-rituals to ancestors, twice-monthly larger rituals for healing and meaning-making, and a strong sense of community and belonging…including one cat. (Pets are therapeutic too, after all.)

And so, we reach our 9 keys for integrative wellness, with recommendations for personal application of each. They are: health psychology, nutrition, exercise & energy, sleep & dreams, transpersonal psychology, mindfulness & meditation, Traditional Chinese Medicine, somatic therapies, and positive psychology. We’ll have a bonus chapter on community – and even a hidden bonus, in our conclusion. I promise you: it’s a journey very much worth taking.

Shall we begin?