Holistic Psychiatry and Telehealth Go Hand in Hand

As mental health care expands, clinicians’ psychiatric treatments improve. While older models of care focus on talk therapy and medication, modern approaches take more factors into account. The body is a complicated network of interconnected parts. And no fields examine the body and mind’s connection quite like holistic psychiatry.

Holistic treatments solve the root cause of psychological problems. Instead of providing generic solutions, these psychiatrists offer individualized treatment plans [1]. Sometimes this involves conventional treatment. Other times, clinics improve a patient’s general wellbeing with acupuncture or nutritional changes.

At first, some patients may not see the advantages of holistic psychiatry. But as more clinics prove its effectiveness, the approach has become more popular [2]. With telehealth offering new tools, the benefits of holistic treatment can only increase. That’s why Beam is here to outline 5 ways virtual care improves holistic psychiatry.

Treatment is More Accessible.

For years, providers couldn’t reach clients who lived outside their town or city. Instead, patients had to settle on local treatment options. In effect, clients outside of large cities had little to no psychiatry options. But thanks to telehealth, anyone can access holistic psychiatry.

So long as providers stay on top of state licensure, they can practice anywhere in the country. A New York-based psychiatrist can offer valuable care to anyone between the coasts. On top of that, because telehealth providers have fewer overhead costs, care is less expensive [3]. At a time when there’s a pressing need for mental healthcare, virtual platforms rise to the occasion.

Remote Holistic Psychiatry Prioritizes Comfort

Opening up to a new counselor is rarely easy. The best clinical relationships take time and effort to build. And unfortunately, going out of your way to meet a therapist in their office doesn’t help. But telehealth changes the game by letting a patient speak from the comfort of home.

Remote counseling does pose challenges. Providers need to rethink body language and convey tone through a video chat. But once they’ve overcome these hurdles, clients feel more at ease than they ever did in an office [4]. When discussing sensitive topics, this home-field advantage makes discussions easier.

Treatment Integrates Behavioral Strategies

Talk therapy is an important tool in holistic psychiatry. On one hand, opening up about a problem helps the patient vent and feel at ease. But beyond this, talk therapy helps determine if a client’s issue is physical or mental. Because depending on the problem’s source, treatment can dramatically change.

When the patient’s issue is psychological, providers have impressive tools at their disposal. After talk therapy gets the ball rolling, behavioral therapies ensure proper treatment. Behavioral psychology has improved over the last few decades. And in its current state, it revolutionizes holistic psychiatry.

The two most popular techniques are Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Cognitive Processing Therapy. Both of these approaches draw from a patient’s self-image or relation to a traumatic event. Here, therapists rework the client’s thought process to see themselves in a new light. By restructuring how patients understand themselves, these therapies see unprecedented success.

Network with other specialists

Holistic psychiatry can’t solve every problem by itself. Promoting the client’s wellbeing requires a network of interrelated specialists. Because of this, holistic approaches overlap with other forms of care. Primary treatments, nutrition, and long-term disease management can all play a role.

Telehealth lets providers streamline the healthcare networking process. Virtual platforms often contain the tools needed to refer patients to other specialists. These HIPAA-compliant channels can transfer prescription information, diagnoses, and symptoms. On top of that, remote chat and conference features let clinicians collaborate on holistic solutions.

Prescription Management

Despite its many changes, holistic psychiatry still sees the value in medication. After all, the right prescription can manage symptoms and address the root cause of certain conditions. Medication treats chemical imbalances, chronic pain, and bacterial infections. In the end, all these outcomes improve a patient’s general health and relationships.

Thanks to remote platforms, prescription management is better than ever. Virtual services store medication information in secure databases. Because providers can easily review their client’s history, making the right change is simple.

Should the patient’s symptoms get worse under one prescription, clinics can not that it didn’t help. In the case of side effects, practices may instead adjust the dosage. And since these changes are logged, future providers won’t return to an ineffective prescription.

Holistic Psychiatry offers realistic solutions to decades-old problems. And with telehealth at the ready, providing this treatment has never been easier. As if that wasn’t good enough, Beam is here to give practices an extra hand. We offer psychological clinics one year of free access to our all-in-one platform. Click here to learn more about this offer.

Sources:
[1] https://familypsychnj.com/2019/12/what-is-a-holistic-psychiatrist-3-things-to-know/

[2] https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/7-mind-blowing-benefits-of-seeing-an-integrative-psychiatrist/

[3] https://www.ortholive.com/blog/new-study-shows-telehealth-saves-1500-per-visit/

[4] https://reallifecounseling.us/is-telehealth-therapy-as-successful-as-in-person-counseling/