Page 13 - Functional Medicine Booklet

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 types of 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 routinely address Adverse Childhood
Events (ACE). It has been shown that events
occuring during a person’s childhood, like a
parent’s divorce, separation, substance abuse,
incarceration, and also physical, emotional,
verbal, sexual abuse, or trauma, can drive the
development of chronic diseases later in life
including autoimmune diseases. Some adverse
childhood events have been shown to increase
the chances of developing an autoimmune
disease by more than 50%.
Psychological services are covered by Medicare
and most insurance plans. It is recommended
that you check your out-of-network benefits
coverage.