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A Healthy Body Can
Lead To A Healthy Mind
By: Steven C. Fischer, PhD,
CNC, PC
 When Robert first walked into my office, he was
depressed over his failing marriage and business.
He was drinking heavily, had little motivation,
and had lost all interest in sex with his wife.
His diet consisted of fast food washed down
with several cans of diet pop daily. He
rarely ate breakfast and complained of being tired all the time,
primarily due to his poor sleep.
Fast forward 6 months later, and Robert is no longer depressed.
He's cut down his drinking substantially and notices he
has more
energy than ever. His interest in sex has returned and the
intimacy that was lacking with his wife is now
improving. He
never misses breakfast anymore and drinks spring water
instead
of diet pop. And because he's sleeping better, he's more
able to
focus on solving his business problems. So what made
the
difference?
By combining the elements of nutrition, healthful eating,
targeted supplementation, and traditional
psychotherapy in a
unique way, I was able to help Robert make changes that
will
be long lasting. In other words, by addressing the
whole person
with a true integrated approach, my patients can overcome
their most difficult problems and make dramatic
improvements.
This is the basis of nutritional psychology.
The idea of integrating nutrition with psychotherapy to help
people solve their emotional problems is not new however,
since this concept was investigated many years ago. At that
time, a movement called "orthomolecular
psychiatry"
took shape which advocated very high doses of vitamins and
minerals to cure emotional disorders. This approach
was
considered radical at the time and never really
caught on.
Nutritional psychology is very different because it focuses
on the role of whole food nutrition rather than mega-doses
of vitamins. While targeted supplements are considered
essential for optimal health, they take a back seat to the
world of fresh, nutrient-dense, unprocessed food which is
the cornerstone of an effective healing
program.
Developed over 25 years of clinical practice, my success
in treating a broad range of problems is the result of
experimenting and refining my techniques so that a true
holistic integration between the mind and body can
occur.
Since psychologists are not trained to work with the
body side of the mind/body connection, even the best
psychotherapy will have its limitations. By
combining the
best of psychology (conflicts, habits, lifestyle patterns,
goals, etc.) with the best of nutrition (optimal
nutrients,
proper supplementation, physical symptoms, etc.) a
more powerful outcome will occur than by using either
one alone.
If you've been feeling stressed out, fatigued, depressed,
anxious, unable to relax or are just plain fed up with the
pace of life, you are not alone. Nearly everyone today
seems to have some of these complaints and it's not
getting any better. In fact, it's getting much worse
and
unless we can learn how to slow down and disconnect
from the 24/7 world we live in, we will all continue to
spiral out of control and succumb to the stress of modern
day living. Nutritional psychology offers a unique
way to
fight back by mixing psychotherapy with the nourishing
wisdom of real food, just the way it used to be long ago.
___________________________________________________________________________
Dr.Steven C. Fischer, PhD,CNC is the first Fully Licensed Psychologist in
the
State of Michigan to also become a Certified Nutritional
Consultant. He has
been in practice over 25 years and specializes in the
connection between food,
mind, and medicine. He is in full time private
practice at 32255 Northwestern
Hwy, Ste 250, Farmington Hills. For more
information, call 248-626-7082.
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