Before we examine the benefits of integrative wellness, it helps to have a sound understanding of what it means. Integrative wellness is the combination of a variety of wellness practices and therapies designed to work in conjunction with one another.
Conventional medicine views health conditions in a very linear way, diagnosing conditions and offering a prescribed treatment. Whereas integrative wellness aims to treat individuals as a whole, identifying the underlying health concerns that may be contributing to their condition. This is a much more holistic and comprehensive approach to improving a person’s quality of life, rather than just offering treatment at the surface level.
Pacifica Treatment Centre is proud to offer community members dealing with problematic substance use an integrative wellness program that includes a wide range of healthy, constructive, and positive activities. In this article, we will explain the benefits of integrative wellness programs and provide more information on the programs offered at Pacifica.
1. Holistic Treatment
Modern medicine has shown us just how connected the body and mind are. Damage to the body can lead to psychological and cognitive disorders, while damage to the mind can lead to a worsened physiological state. In order to fully heal from physical or psychological trauma, you need to work on improving the body AND the mind.
2. Uncovering the Root Cause of Your Condition.
Instead of being prescribed a generic treatment, Integrative Wellness is all about examining every facet of your lifestyle. Everything from your daily routine, the food you eat, your habits, home environment, daily exercise, social life, and more can be examined to build a profile about your physical and mental health.
By exploring these aspects of your life, your treatment can be tailored to your specific needs. Gone are the days of one-size-fits-all treatment programs. Integrative wellness is about helping you live to your fullest potential, living a long and happy life.
3. You Can Participate in the Treatment Process
Integrative wellness is an inclusive and collaborative process, taking into consideration the personal preferences, beliefs, and desires of each individual. This is not to say treatment will not be challenging, only that it takes into account your wishes as an individual. With these programs, you can tell your specialist what is working for you and what is not. You Identify what you feel is contributing to bettering your health, and what is holding you back.
4. Consult With a Diverse Team of Professionals
Collaboration is essential. Integrative wellness programs collaborate and consult with a range of health and wellness professionals. This means that each specialist can provide you with information based on years of personal experience within their respective fields.
Instead of relying solely on the advice of one medical professional, integrative wellness programs place you in contact with a diverse team that can help address health concerns in multiple areas of your life. One person can only have so much knowledge, having a team behind you offers you so much more potential for valuable information.
5. Treatment That is More Than Medication
There are plenty of ways in which medication is incredibly useful, but it should not be regarded as the end-all-be-all cure for everything. Medication is excellent at assisting in treatment, but integrative wellness is about rebuilding your foundational health, not masking it, and dealing with potential side effects.
Medication can be thought of as a short-term solution (or part of a broader solution), whereas integrative wellness is the practice of engaging in treatments and programs that seek to better your health in the long term. It is possible that through integrative wellness, you resolve the issue at its source and no longer need medication.
6. Helping Those who Feel Helpless
Many of the people who have been let down or left behind by conventional medicine have found incredible success in integrative wellness programs, which provides people with choices. Wellness is not something you buy at a pharmacy, it is achieved through lifestyle choices, healthy habits, strong social connections, and reinforcing positive mentalities.
How Integrative Wellness Help with Substance Use Recovery
Substance Use Disorders (SUDs) are multifaceted, meaning there are many factors that cause, contribute, and shape how substance use affects each individual. While medication has its uses, temporarily suppressing urges and helping to balance your mood, integrative wellness is much better equipped to resolve the root causes of substance misuse.
Integrative wellness offers physical, cognitive, and social activities that promote the natural production of dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin. While at the same time, keeping you busy on a consistent basis and filling your days with goals that you can build towards.
What Is Included in the Integrative Wellness Program at Pacifica?
Pacifica offers a wide range of modalities to fit the individual’s needs. Professionals from various disciplines offer complementary programs at Pacifica, including:
- Yoga
- Creative Arts Therapy
- Acupuncture
- Meditation
- Reiki Energy Healing
- Sexual Health Classes
- Fitness-Related Activities, including:
- Walking
- Running
- Hiking
- Skating
Our goal is to offer community members new and enjoyable recreational activities that do not revolve around substance use and encourage positive habit building. Wellness programming takes into consideration the principles of equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility.
Integrative Wellness Substance Recovery Programs Available in Vancouver, BC
If you would like to learn more about the integrative wellness programs offered at Pacifica Treatment Center, our team is happy to answer any questions you may have. Pacifica fosters a collaborative environment where both community members and our interdisciplinary team are active participants in the Pacifica ecosystem.
Call our offices to speak with a member of our team or schedule a consultation online today.