Trauma happens when your mind and body react to a distressing event, like an accident, crime, or natural disaster.
Holistic treatment for trauma helps heal the mind, body, and spirit. In holistic trauma therapy, practices like yoga, meditation, and breathwork are used along with talk therapy to support healing.
A therapist may suggest holistic treatments as part of your care plan. They can lower stress, lift your mood, and help you feel more connected to your body and emotions.
Trauma happens after distressing events, like abuse, violence, or natural disasters. These experiences can affect your thoughts, emotions, and even your body. You might feel sad or afraid or deal with headaches or stomachaches. Holistic trauma healing focuses on soothing your mind, body, and spirit.
Therapy can offer effective support for people who have experienced trauma. And some research shows that a shorter holistic program that uses meditation, art, and movement can be just as effective as other forms of care and offer longer-lasting relief.
Holistic healing can combine traditional therapy with simple calming practices. It’s especially helpful if you feel disconnected from your body after trauma.
How a holistic approach to trauma works
Holistic trauma healing does more than focus on symptoms. It looks at how trauma affects your thoughts, feelings, and body.
By combining talk therapy with calming practices, it can help in ways that talk therapy alone may not.
Holistic approaches may ease common trauma symptoms like:
Anxiety and panic: Doing breathwork, yoga, meditation, and acupuncture can help calm racing thoughts and help you relax.
Sleep problems and insomnia: If you can’t fall or stay asleep, mindfulness meditation and gentle movement can help.
Chronic pain: Many people with childhood trauma experience chronic pain later in life. Massage, acupuncture, and mindfulness meditation work to ease tight muscles and chronic pain.
Flashbacks and upsetting thoughts: Grounding and trauma-informed mindfulness can help you focus on the present and reduce the frequency of intrusive memories. These tools can calm your mind and help you feel safe.
Depression and low energy: Moving your body, doing creative activities, and practicing breathing exercises can boost your mood, lower stress, and improve focus.
Feeling lonely or pulling away from others: Peer support groups can help you feel less alone and provide comfort. You can choose to meet in person or with an online group.
Substance use: Some people use alcohol, drugs, or medications in unhealthy ways to try to block painful thoughts and feelings. While this may help at first, the relief doesn’t usually last. Yoga is a healthier option that helps you reconnect with your body, manage emotions, and feel more in control.
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Choosing a trauma-informed holistic provider
If you need help healing from trauma, a therapist is often a good place to start. They focus on emotional healing and can offer or suggest holistic practices. Psychiatrists focus on medication but can also work with therapists to support your care.
Keep in mind that not all therapists or psychiatrists specialize in trauma. Some may focus on relationship problems, work stress, or anxiety. Others are trained in trauma-informed therapy, in which they learn how trauma affects both the mind and body. These providers work to help you feel safe, recognize your symptoms, and work through the root cause of your trauma.
Holistic care can sometimes be a part of trauma therapy. Many therapists suggest combining therapy with yoga, meditation, or breathing exercises. Some work closely with experts like yoga instructors, meditation coaches, or nutritionists. Therapists may also suggest books, videos, or exercises to support your healing.
Here are some tips for finding the right provider for holistic trauma care:
Ask about their training. Find out if they practice trauma-informed care or methods like eye movement desensitization and reprocessing, somatic therapy, or mindfulness. You can also ask if they can refer you to experts in these areas.
Learn about their approach. Ask what happens if you feel overwhelmed or triggered during a session. Look for answers that focus on kindness, safety, and support.
Check their experience. Some providers work with specific types of trauma like PTSD, grief, childhood trauma, or sexual assault. It’s helpful to ask if they’ve treated others in situations like yours.
Consider online therapy. You can also search online for referrals to therapists and psychiatrists who specialize in trauma-informed care.
Holistic ways to recover from trauma
Recovering from trauma can take time, patience, and support. Along with seeing a therapist or psychiatrist, these six simple holistic practices can help you start to heal, one step at a time.
Journaling: Writing down your thoughts and feelings gives you a safe space to release sadness, fear, or anger instead of keeping everything inside. Journaling can also help reduce stress and improve sleep.
Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR): This eight-week program teaches mindfulness meditation, gentle yoga, and easy activities you can do at home. It’s been shown to help lower stress and reduce the severity of trauma symptoms.
Grounding: This approach helps you focus on the present moment instead of getting stuck in upsetting memories or overwhelming thoughts. One common grounding technique is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise, in which you name five things you see, four things you feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. Grounding exercises can help calm anxiety, enhance sleep, and improve overall well-being.
Art therapy: Through drawing, painting, sculpting, or collage, people can process painful memories. Creating art can also boost self-esteem and reduce anxiety and stress.
Spending time outdoors: Taking a walk, doing some yard work, or exercising in the park can help lower stress, calm anxiety, and boost your mood.
Therapy for nightmares: Two common treatments for nightmares are imagery rehearsal therapy (IRT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). They can both help decrease frequency and intensity of nightmares. IRT helps you change the ending of your nightmares while you’re awake. CBT helps you change negative thoughts that can trigger nightmares.
Feeling disconnected from your body can be a natural response to pain and survival. Healing can start with something simple, like noticing your breath or placing a hand on your heart. Small, gentle steps count, and your body is patiently waiting for you to come back home.
Ashley Ayala, LMFT
Clinical reviewer
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It’s easy to want to ignore the symptoms of trauma and hope they’ll simply go away. Pushing aside your feelings can seem easier than facing the pain. In fact, denying trauma is a natural way that your mind tries to protect you.
But when trauma goes unaddressed, it often shows up as anxiety, depression, or even physical problems like headaches and feeling tired all the time. With the right support, like therapy and holistic practices, you can begin to face your feelings in a safe way, learn healthy ways to manage stress, and start to heal.
At Rula, we’re committed to delivering a comprehensive behavioral health experience that helps people feel seen and understood so they can get back to feeling their best.
Rula makes it easier to find a licensed therapist or psychiatric provider who accepts your insurance so you don’t have to choose between affordable care and excellent care. With a diverse network of more than 15,000 providers, 24/7 crisis support, and appointments available as soon as tomorrow, we're here to help you make progress — wherever you are on your mental health journey.
Linda Childers
Linda is an award-winning medical writer with experience writing for major media outlets, health companies, hospitals, and both consumer and trade print and digital outlets.
Her articles have appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, WebMD, AARP, Brain+Life, HealthyWomen.org, The Rheumatologist, California Health Report, Everyday Health, HealthCentral, and many other media outlets.
While juggling the responsibilities of being part of the “sandwich generation” and caring for both her toddler son and terminally ill mother, a nurse friend encouraged her to seek therapy, which helped her to learn coping strategies and manage her depression. Linda hopes her work will help to destigmatize mental health conditions and encourage others to get the help they need.
Ashley Ayala, LMFT
Ashley is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in generational healing and family dynamics. Ashley has worked in schools, clinics, and in private practice. She believes that people’s relationships, including our relationship with ourselves, greatly shape our experiences in life.
Ashley is committed to empowering others to show up authentically and deepen their self understanding. This passion stems from taking a critical lens on her own life story and doing inner healing. One of her favorite quotes is “Be yourself and the right people will love the real you.”
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