Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/77400
BODYWORK, MOVEMENT, AND MENTAL HEALTH Three centers, founded by psychiatrists, exemplify this type of holistic, integrative approach: the Wholeness Center in Fort Collins, Colorado, The Center for Mind- Body Medicine in Washington, DC, and the Child Trauma Academy in Houston, Texas. Though their models vary, each stresses the mind-body connection and a holistic, integrative approach to their patients' problems. "When you address mind, body, and spirit, you are going to have much better results," says Hugh Castor, licensed acupuncturist and massage therapist with the Wholeness Center in Colorado. Castor is one of a team of practitioners at the center, which includes adult and child psychiatrists, family therapists, naturopathic doctors, counselors, psychologists, acupuncturists, a clinical social worker, nutrition specialists, a psychiatric nurse practitioner, and a massage therapist. Founded by child psychiatrist Scott Shannon in October 2010, the center employs biomedical treatments in recognition of the fact that "neurological symptoms can be the result of, or worsened by, physical illness." The Wholeness Center addresses physical and mental health, as well as learning issues through several interventions: medical, which may include pharmaceuticals; individual psychotherapy or family therapy; behavioral changes, which can include nutrition and exercise; and movement and bodywork. Years of experience working with children in institutions and private practice showed Shannon the validity of a collaborative approach. Author of Please Don't Label My Child and an advocate of natural medicine since his student days, he sought to understand his young clients' temperaments, needs, gifts, and struggles in a holistic way. Aware of the limitations and even dangers of psychiatric medications for children, he aimed to minimize their use and instead support children with a multipronged and more natural approach. THE BODY AND BRAIN Shannon is just one of a number of physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, and educators informed by research from the neurosciences on brain development and the emotional and environmental factors crucial to this development. Bruce Perry, founder of the Child Trauma Academy and author of The Boy Who was Raised as a Dog, works directly with developmental trauma and he and his staff teach practitioners and educators how to address it. Perry and his group are applying the knowledge of the neurosciences to therapy, while stressing the importance of movement and bodywork in addressing early injury. Many experts note the importance of relationship in regulating the nervous system, and most acknowledge the role of touch or movement in addressing attachment issues, hyperarousal, and trauma. Whether an individual struggles with psychosis or ADHD, comprehensive treatment approaches can change biochemistry and even neural pathways. Many therapeutic approaches involve healing relationships, bodywork, and movement to address nervous system agitation; and nutrition, supplements, exercise, and sleep to stabilize brain chemistry and endocrine function. As practitioners across the country assimilate the knowledge and apply integrative approaches, the perspectives on mental illness, diagnoses, and prognoses are shifting. The Wholeness Center, for example, addresses depression and anxiety, learning issues, attention deficit disorder (ADD), and autism, as well as psychosis, schizophrenia, neuroses, and violent or suicidal tendencies. Yet, as Shannon writes in Please Don't Label My Child, the diagnosis isn't front and center; it may take a backseat as practitioners consider temperament, environment, family, diet, and exercise. As children's relationships, environment, diet, and exercise change, or as they receive bodywork or acupuncture, they may feel more regulated or more at ease, less stressed, and better able to concentrate. When a client comes to the Wholeness Center, he or she is paired up with a primary practitioner, such as a social worker or psychiatrist, who can then coordinate with colleagues to best address the client's needs. "We are trying to bring it all together and use structural, biochemical, energetic, and movement practices to best serve our clients," Castor says. "Different combinations are often necessary to address the unique individual and their problem." For example, a child with autism may see a Wholeness Center social worker, as well as naturopath Steve Rondeau. Rondeau, who specializes in autism, may "prescribe" acupressure to harmonize the energy in the body and calm the nervous system. He will also address the disorder with some combination of herbs, nutrition, and exercise in a way that makes sense for the individual. BODYWORK AND EMOTIONS For some clients, massage is a fundamental part of treatment, Castor says. Massage soothes the nervous 46 massage & bodywork march/april 2011