A Therapist on the Benefits of a Holistic Approach to Mental Health

When Anita Phillips, Licensed Social Worker-Cwas a child, watching her older sister struggle with mental health issues. At the time, it was unclear what to do in such a crisis because there have been no open conversations about mental illness. “When she first started struggling, there was no conversation about mental health,” she says. “My parents, who were pastors, didn’t deny the belief in mental illness and instead prayed. It just wasn’t on the list of options for explaining her problem.”

That experience led Phillips to a profession as a therapist, specifically a trauma therapist, and a big part of her work helps people take care of their mental health while also accepting the many other parts of who they’re and what their mind, body, and spirit require. That includes being spiritual beings. In addition to being a therapist and life coach, Phillips can be a minister.

“I had big questions at the intersection of mental health, spiritual health, and relational health, and that led me into this field,” she says. “I became a trauma therapist, so I wanted to share what I had learned from a lifetime of searching and living. I wanted to share it with people who might have big questions at a complicated intersection, just like I did.”

And one of the most complex intersections for some people is balancing mental health with spiritual practices. As history goes, black people were once resistant to therapy and conversations about mental health because of religion. According to Pew Research Center survey, 97 percent of black adults consider in a higher power, and 59 percent say religion could be very vital to them. But Phillips says that while there have all the time been encouragements to rely on one’s faith in difficult times, blacks have not really been immune to psychology when it’s needed.

“Black people know that healthcare has not always been a trustworthy and safe place for us, and that includes mental health care,” she says. “For a long time, the field of psychology has stigmatized people of color, their culture and their worldview, and psychology in general has stigmatized religion for a long time. And that has put black people in a double bind because not only are we people of color with a different cultural perspective, but we are also more committed to our faith. And it really wasn’t our fault.”

Phillips adds, “We wisely protected ourselves from a field that wasn’t for us. So now that the field of psychology has expanded to be culturally competent and to embrace faith, and there are more black people who are mental health professionals, we are taking responsibility to translate the language of the mental health field into the language of our people, into the language of our faith. And we are seeing that change. So I reject the idea that black people stigmatized it or that we just wanted to pray about it. I hear that, but I really feel like it was more than that. I feel like the field that wasn’t necessarily meant to keep us safe is now trying harder to do that.”

As increasingly people search out therapists alongside their favorite virtual sermons, Phillips encourages us to delve into every little thing we want to feel our greatest. She has published a paper titled help people recognize their emotions and do the work needed—whether it’s a physical practice like taking a running class, reading the Bible, or releasing tension in a therapy session—to achieve optimal well-being.

“My encouragement is to do all of these things,” she says. “Often we try to decide where the problem is and then only respond there. So we think the problem is spiritual. Then we strengthen our spiritual practices. If we think it’s physical, we either want to take medication or do some exercise. When it comes to how we feel, I want us to have a holistic approach.”

“So go to church on Sunday, go for a run on Sunday night, eat well during the week, and see a mental health professional,” she continues. “When was the last time you had a physical exam? Do everything. It’s not just one thing. We are gardens. I love my gardens. And in a garden, you have to have good seeds, good soil, light, and water. It’s all in a system. And I want people to not think of themselves in parts. My spirit is here, my mind is there. We are a system. And take care of every part, while you do everything. Your well-being as a whole is what matters most.”

Phillips adds, “The garden is a vast place, and I want people to accept their whole life, their whole set of experiences, their whole present, their whole past, their whole future, and make sure they have a healthy relationship with pain so they can get the most joy out of life.”