pleasure and reducing negative feelings, and may even slow their central nervous system. Untreated, trauma can lead to a vicious cycle where one condition feeds the other.


Holistic Healing While medications such as antidepressants and antipsychotics can be effective in treating trauma symptoms, they may fall short in addressing the root cause. An integrative approach to trauma healing adds evidence-based therapies to tackle the underlying causes and promote long- term recovery.


Integrative Psychiatry James Greenblatt, a board-certified functional and integrative psychiatrist and founder of Psychiatry Redefined, believes in a broader view of psychiatric care. “For example, if our patient is suffering from depression and we were to tell them they should exercise because it’s the best antidepressant we have, that could come off as incredibly insensitive, ruin our chances of gaining their trust and add to their feelings of helplessness and isolation. Alternatively, if we show them how to recover their motivation and energy, that is the way to begin the relationship.” “Our bodies are different, and our


genetics are different. How we react to stress and trauma are different too. I start with lab and genetic tests to see if there’s something I can optimize biologically. Ten we supplement any nutritional deficiencies to restore their functionality and increase their energy. Tese tests also partially help inform the way we design the complementary healing modality plan. Tis is the piece that gets missed a lot,” says Greenblatt, adding that he tests depressed patients for a vitamin B12 deficiency, which may contribute to depression, anxiety and even psychosis.


Finding a Safe Place Children are particularly susceptible to trauma, and an adverse childhood experience (ACE) can pose lifelong impacts. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 64 percent of adults say they have had at least one ACE, and 17 percent say they had


four or more by age 18. ACEs can rob kids of the magic of childhood, disrupt their development and lead to maladaptive behaviors in adulthood. Aimie Apigian, a double board-certified


physician in preventative and addiction medicine and founder of Trauma Healing Accelerated, started her work with attachment and trauma by working with adoptive families to help their children with attachment insecurity. She explains that childhood traumatic experiences can result in “underlying mistrust—literally wiring a child’s nervous system, brain and body for survival—and overwhelm connection, security and safety.” Somatic therapy is one modality that


Apigian integrates to assist individuals on their trauma-healing journey, helping them connect with their bodies, learn to understand its messages and resolve stored trauma. Apigian explains that just 10 minutes of sequential somatic exercises over 21 days can restore a sense of safety. “For each person, the specific improvement or the degree of improvement will be different, but there will be an improvement as soon as we shiſt our biology into one of safety rather than of danger.” By following an essential sequence to


safely address stored trauma through somatic exercises, Apigian says people “experience 30 percent less depression, 30 percent less anxiety, 30 percent fewer digestive issues, 30 percent improvement in energy and a 60 percent increase in their feelings of safety. Te essential sequence has to start with creating a felt sense of safety, then a sense of support and then opening up while pacing our process. It is such a powerful way to empower them for their lifetime.”


Reaching Our Inner Child Inner-child work can help develop a dialogue to reach the place where we hold past emotions, memories, beliefs, hopes and dreams. “I tell people when they’re starting this journey, if they put their hands on their belly above and below their bellybutton and just let the hands be there, that will calm down an aspect of us so that it begins to feel safe. It’s called the basic self,” says Dr. Lin Morel, a trauma management specialist and founder of Beyond Words Group. “It’s an


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