55 opportunities for change - how the biopsychosocial approach can help us heal
Hello Everyone,
It's Easter! For me a time of hope, reflection and renewal.
It's also the Restoration Room's 5th birthday!
Renewal means some sort of change. That's a big part of the ethos here and why it's in my tag line; "holistic therapy for health, wellness and change".
Why am I passionate about change?
Because it’s hard to get a different outcome by staying the same. Trust me, I've tried! There was a time when I never thought I would be anything but unhappy and unwell, let alone a therapist. I've done a lot of changing since and that continues.
If change gives you the heeby jeebies then you could think about it as swapping rather than changing. Swapping old for new, or discomfort for comfort. Whether it's our skin, our body, our mind or our world an increase in how comfortable we feel in it can do so much for our life and our health. The Restoration Room is open specifically to help with that. Each month I make around 70 appointment options available. Of those I choose to fulfill 55. That's 55 opportunities for change and increased comfort, of some description.
Can treatments change things like anxiety & arthritis?
Often I’m asked “does Homeopathy work for IBS?”. Or, “I’ve heard that Reflexology is good for sciatica, is that right?”, or “what have you got for arthritis?”
There isn’t one magic cure-all or one therapy that works for one condition. The reason why is because the healing comes from you rather than it. So the answer could actually be that it’s whichever therapy, or practice that gets you to begin changing, and healing.
What helps us to heal?
Sometimes we need to work on our physical body in some way by addressing pain, deficiencies and imbalances. Sometimes we need to look at our mind, emotional state, belief systems and our lifestyle. Sometimes it’s a combination of all of those things, as well as hereditary, environmental and medical influences.
This is known as the Biopsychosocial Model, a term introduced in the late 70’s by American Psychiatrist, George Engel.
For long as I have been qualified, which is over 25 years, this has been called the Holistic Approach.
An article in the British Medical Journal in 2002 said,
“The Biopsychosocial Model of health and illness as proposed by Engel (1977) implies that behaviours, thoughts and feelings may influence a physical state”.
It went on to say that
“In spite of the traditional dominance of the biomedical model, the time seems right for expanding the model to the Biopsychosocial Model as the social and psychological influences of today’s health problems do not fit the narrow framework of the biomedical model. We are now faced with the necessity and the challenge to broaden the approach to disease to include the psychosocial without sacrificing the enormous advantages of the biomedical approach”.
You might be surprised to learn how long ago that was proposed and yet there are still little to no practitioners like me in the system actually doing it. Maybe one day it will happen.
How can the Restoration Room help?
All of that is why I do what I do, and why I offer more than one therapy covering everything from mental health, to physical pain, to looking at hormone balance and the gut microbiome.
I use Homeopathic Medicine, Level 5 Soft Tissue Therapy, Massage Therapy, Reiki, Reflexology and also Myofascial Therapy. I also use encourage talking, meditation and use texts such as A Course in Miracles and the Bagavad Gita as well as Yoga, Buddhist and ancient mystic philosophy to guide us along the way.
What I love about these therapies is that, not only are they in line with the Biopsychosocial model, they are also natural, sustainable, non-toxic, non-suppressive and yet still have the power to catalyse change initiated by the person themselves. You.
That means that once it’s in effect it cannot be taken away and there are no nasty side effects to endure. Just better health, happiness and feeling more comfy.
Booking a session
All treatments come with a consultation and within that we can always change the plan and use a different therapy so don't worry about booking the wrong thing. If you know you’re looking for something to be different, or you need some help with an aspect of your health but you’re not sure where to start or what to book do feel free to ask for a free 15 minute call.
Gratitude and welcome
For those of you that have been clients since the beginning or coming a long while... you're amazing!
Oh what wonderful things I have seen you achieve!
Thank you for your continued efforts toward helping yourselves and for your support of The Restoration Room.
For those of you that are new, welcome! I hope this has provided a slightly better insight into the type of work that I do, and the many different ways that we can work together on your health.
I will leave you with this beautiful insight from Paracelsus (1493 -1591) who said
"The art of healing comes from nature, not from the physician. Therefore the physician must start from nature, with an open mind"
Have a wonderful Easter time. Alex 💜