September is National Recovery Month, a time devoted to the celebration of recovery from mental health and substance abuse problems. Not only does this month serve to educate the public about the importance of these issues, it also focuses on the positive side of treatment. This year, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is promoting National Recovery Month by taking up the mantra, “Visible, Vocal, and Valuable!” which emphasizes awareness and mentoring as means of prevention and treatment. For Casa Palmera, what better way to celebrate September than to bring awareness to the benefits of a holistic healing approach?
At Casa Palmera, we emphasize treating the whole person, including physical, nutritional, environmental, emotional, social, spiritual and lifestyle values. Holistic medicine, commonly known as “alternative” or “complementary” medicine, is sometimes dismissed as ineffective. However, by acknowledging a whole-person perspective, Casa Palmera is able to help patients recover with methods that will benefit them throughout their lives.
Determining the Root Cause of an Addiction
One of the better-known components of holistic healing is the search for the root cause of a patient’s symptoms. This is extremely beneficial for trauma patients, whose past experiences have culminated in PTSD or anxiety disorder. The knowledge of the root cause of symptoms is also beneficial for dual diagnosis patients: it is important to know if the mental illness occurred before or was a result of substance abuse. By taking into account the entirety of a patient’s experience, the caregiver has a knowledge base with which they are enabled to provide them with quality care.
Dual diagnosis patients can benefit from the “mind, body, spirit” approach to healing which emphasizes the “whole-person”. Patients with both a mental illness and a substance abuse problem should be treated for both conditions simultaneously. Recognition of both the mental and physical state of a person, along with the spiritual impact their condition has had, is essential to the practice of holistic healing.
According to the National Institute of Health, over thirty percent of adults in the United States partake in alternative medicine or that which is developed outside of mainstream Western medicine. These activities may include the consumption of natural products, doing yoga, or practicing meditation. “Integrative medicine” is the combination of traditional medicine and holistic medicine, and is part of the treatment philosophy at Casa Palmera.
Casa Palmera offers a variety of opportunities for their patients’ recovery. By treating the root cause of their symptoms, integrating traditional medicine with the beneficial aspects of holistic healing, and providing a welcoming environment, this facility is able to provide patients with an experience that will benefit them for the rest of their lives.
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