“The Power of Integrative Wellness Care”

By Richard Garritson, BSN, RN, Community Wellness Outreach Volunteer

As we age, the stress of everyday life can take its toll on our health. The stress of work, relationships and everyone’s own unique interpersonal struggles can quickly and negatively impact the mind, body, and spirit. Integrative wellness care sets a plan in action that focuses on the whole person, by utilizing safe, evidence-based actions to provide healing and long-lasting benefits.

Think of yourself as a seed and to fully take root and bloom you must be given water, sunlight, and room to grow. You cannot simply water a leaf and expect a plant to bloom into a beautiful flower. Just like you can’t treat one part of your body and expect yourself to fully flourish. The benefits of holistic medicine, (formerly called alternative therapies or complementary medicine) aim to do just that. To provide everything you need to flourish, while creating a treatment plan that is crafted and unique to you.

What is Integrative Wellness Care?

So, what is integrative wellness care and why is it so important to you? Integrative wellness is a comprehensive approach to medicine, which focuses on providing treatment to the entire patient. It blends a combination of conventional treatments and modern medicine with traditional holistic approaches.

Modern medicine often narrowly focuses on disease diagnosis and symptom management. Holistic healing stems from the idea that a person must be treated as a whole and is not limited to just one body part or symptom. To provide healing and improve one’s quality of life, the whole body needs to be treated at the root of the issue. This integrative approach to wellness care ensures that treatment is not only personalized, but effective too.

Integrative wellness care at its very foundation is culturally sensitive and aims to provide care that is client-centered, while remaining steadfast in the belief that health should be accessible and obtainable to everyone.

Benefits of Integrative Approaches

By blending conventional medicine with holistic “alternative” treatments, an integrative approach can push the boundaries of what modern medicine can provide, effectively utilizing treatment plans from a multitude of therapies to treat the whole person. There are many benefits to integrative wellness care. Here are some key benefits to this model of health.

1) Holistic Care: With its whole-body approach to health, treatment is not limited to diseases and ailments, but maintains the belief that all aspects of an individual’s health, including physical, mental, and spiritual health, need nurturing.

2) Preventative Care: Creating treatment strategies that focus on preventing ailments from occurring. This may include implementing strategies to lower stress levels, optimizing blood pressure, improving digestive function and sleep, and assisting with the control of blood glucose levels. These are all controllable factors that aid in the prevention of chronic health conditions.

3) Long Term Solutions: Instead of limiting treatment to the onset of symptoms or diseases, integrative health focuses on providing lifelong solutions to overall health. This may include lifestyle changes, behavior modification, and utilization of supplemental therapies.

Our Approach at Community Wellness Collaborative

Here at Community Wellness Collaborative, we are committed to the health of the San Diego community. We are a community that focuses on giving you everything you need to fully flourish by providing the very best integrative healing services. This is obtainable by our many holistic therapies available and the utilization of safe and effective treatment including acupuncture, chiropractic care, clinical massage, corporate wellness, nutrition and detox.

Our treatment plans are client-centered, culturally sensitive and founded in mutual respect. We reject the notion that treatment is one-size fits all and instead respect that everyone is their own person with their own unique needs. Whether you’re seeking treatment for a disease, on the road to recovery or looking to maintain and enhance your wellness, our patients receive exceptional integrative healing services.

Furthermore, as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, we have produced a free weekly outreach clinic for over 18 years. For every three paid visits at Community Wellness on Adams Avenue, we can offer one session for free to a community member in need at the free clinic. Everyone is welcome regardless of income and most insurance covers acupuncture treatments.

Community Wellness Collaborative believes that everyone should have equal access to quality, affordable and integrative wellness care. Rest assured you are not alone, and your concerns will be heard and addressed. We eagerly await the opportunity to assist you on your path to wellness!

For more information, please call our offices at 619-546-4806

Richard Garritson is a freelance medical writer. Prior to this role, he worked 3 years as a BSN RN with a specialty in stroke/telemetry and case management. Richard grew up in San Diego, California and currently lives in Gifu City, Japan. He enjoys exercising, inline skating, and spending time with his wife and daughter.