As with the general wellness Intake Assessment I do, clients need to be prepared to do some portions of the Emotional Wellness Intake Assessment at home. This saves time for both of us, and saves clients some money. If a client comes in having done nothing at home, I am required to charge that client for the extra time it will take to complete that portion in the office.
And, as with the general wellness Intake Assessment, the Report of Findings with specific recommendations happens in a separate appointment. I have to have time to ensure I'm not recommending an herb, for instance, that will react badly with a medication. It isn't possible to memorize all possible interactions between the several hundred known "medicinal herbs" and the more than 24,000 known medications on the market.
I was an independently Licensed Professional Clinical Counselor (LPCC) and Licensed Chemical Dependency Counselor-III (LCDC-III). I was trained and highly effective at assessing people's mental health and chemical dependency issues. As a Certified Integrative Mental Health Practitioner (CIMHP) and Life Coach, I no longer diagnose people's mental illnesses, however, it is still important to work under advisement of an assessment. If I ask a client to complete a symptom checklist or look at some pictures, I am looking for emotional patterns, not making a diagnosis. Once emotional patterns are elucidated, it is easier and more ethical to identify and treat underlying issues than it is by making blind assumptions. These assessment tools also provide me with information that helps me recognize when clients truly need to be referred to mental health professionals such as psychiatrists, psychologists, and psychotherapists.
What I will never use with clients seeking natural emotional wellness support are frank diagnostic tools such as the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI), or the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). [I could become individually certified to administer each of these tests, or I could go back to school and jump through a couple of courses to restore my expired counseling licenses, but I like what I'm doing now, and I don't want to restore them.] On the other hand, having clients complete a Human Design (HD) assessment identifies areas of strength as well as areas needing support, and some best practices for providing effective support.
I also administer a USBT (Urine/Saliva Biomarker Test). Digestive and energetic patterns revealed by this assessment impact emotional wellbeing, sometimes subtly, sometimes profoundly.
And I complete a biometrics screening. I have the necessary certification to do that, and it would be negligent of me not to. If a client comes to me stressed out and anxious, and I get a blood pressure reading of, say 138/88, I can provide effective support via stress management, healthy food and fluid intake, healthy sleep education, and homework practice, as well as recommending some amazing herbs, essential oils, and/or Bach flower remedies to support normalization of the stress response, instruct the client to monitor his/her own blood pressure at home, and provide clear instructions about when to contact an allopathic medical professional. If a client comes to me stressed out and anxious, and I get a blood pressure reading of 160/100 or above, that's something I need to know so I can rather immediately refer that person for medical attention.
The difference between what I did as a counselor and what I do as an integrative mental health practitioner/life and women's wellness coach is that as a counselor I searched for, identified, and treated pathology; as an integrative mental health practitioner/life and women's wellness coach, I identify areas that are already strong as well as areas that need to be supported and strengthened, sometimes naturally, and sometimes with help from psychiatric, psychological, and pharmaceutical professions, and work with you to support, encourage and bolster those areas in the normal, ongoing journey of life within the context of emotional wellness.
Sometimes clients come to me wanting me to help them get off their psychotropic medications or write them a letter saying they don't need a payee. That is not in my scope of practice, and no, I won't do that for anybody as a "special favor." I worked in the mental health and chemical dependency treatment systems for 20 years, and I've seen decompensated mental illness at its worst. I know some natural health practitioners think mental illnesses are "made up diagnoses." I am not one of them. Let me say clearly that if a person needs to take a medication, for whatever reason (including to be functionally sane), then that person needs to take a medication. There is no shame in needing to take a medication.
Another question that comes up is, "How long will it take?" Here's a rule of thumb: It will take as long as it takes. Lifestyle changes need to take place in a step-wise fashion to be sustainable. Trying to change too many things all at one time is a recipe for failure. Unlike allopathic medications which force changes in body physiology, natural remedies and lifestyle changes work with the body and encourage it to make changes on its own by providing necessary elements or creating energetic changes. They don't work suddenly, however, progressive improvements are usually sustainable with a continued healthier lifestyles.
I ask my clients up front to identify the top three most important issues to them, and we start with those, unless there's another issue I can't ignore, such as a the aforementioned very high blood pressure. And yes, clients are allowed to change their minds about which issues are of top importance to them. Change is good, is often a sign of progress, and can be an important factor in clarifying underlying causes of emotional wellness issues.
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