At the Bingham Healthcare Center for Functional Medicine, we believe that optimal healing occurs when all aspects of a person are addressed, including the physical, psychological, and spiritual. These three aspects work together and influence one another within each person—helping create health or illness. Why? The body is not only an outward representation of our genes, physical conditioning, nutrition and physical events, but also emotions, thoughts, beliefs and emotional history. By addressing the mind and spirit in addition to the physical body, medical psychotherapy can help speed recovery and adaptation from a medical condition.

Psychotherapy’s Role in Physical Healing

It is normal to have emotional responses to illness, injury or life events. Your medical condition may create a variety of emotions, such as confusion, anger, fear or hopelessness, as well as place stress on relationships, finances or your ability to work. You may also have normal, ongoing stresses in your life, such as an aging parent, marriage difficulties, or a frustrating career. These emotions produce a physical and chemical reaction in the body. When these emotions are not addressed or managed, they can negatively impact your ability to heal and maintain health. A growing body of scientific evidence links psychological suffering with a restricted ability to heal. In addition, it is believed that ongoing emotional and psychological disease can create physical disease in the body.

We also address Adverse Childhood Events (ACE). It has been shown that events that occur during a person’s childhood, like divorce, separation, substance abuse, incarceration. Also physical, emotional, verbal or sexual abuse can drive the development of chronic diseases later in life. This includes the Auto-immune diseases. Other adverse events could include being born by a C-section, not being breast fed, early antibiotic (ATB) use, or being born premature.

What to Expect

Through the process of talking in a supportive, non-judgmental environment with a professional therapist, you learn to identify your emotions, stressors, and responses. The therapist acts as your partner, helping you explore your coping style and offering alternative options for responding to stressors. A variety of coping strategies, such as meditation, guided imagery, dream work and journaling are some of the tools that your therapist may teach you to increase intuitive skills to aid your healing and gain control over physical reactions in your body that may interfere with healing.

Psychological services are covered by Medicare and most insurance plans. It is recommended that you check your out-of-network benefits coverage.