Therapy shouldn’t just “fix” your thoughts—it needs to meet all of you. That’s what integrative mental health therapy is about: blending traditional talk therapy with holistic tools that attend to your mind, body, emotions, identity, and environment.
I’m Sara Sanford, LCSW, and I believe healing happens in a container that values every part of you. Whether you’re struggling with anxiety, depression, trauma, or feeling stuck in a life transition, integrative care helps you feel whole again.
What Does “Integrative” Actually Mean?
“Integrative” therapy is about weaving together multiple evidence-based approaches—Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), mindfulness, somatic practices, trauma-informed care, and more—into a single, cohesive journey. Compared to a one-size-fits-all model (like pure CBT), integrative therapy recognizes that people are complex—and that lasting healing often requires tools beyond talk.
Here’s how I often blend modalities:
- CBT: Practical tools to adjust unhelpful inner narratives
- ACT: Building acceptance and values-focused action
- Mindfulness Therapy: Grounding you in the present moment
- Somatic & Holistic Healing: Working with breath, grounding, movement, and creativity
- Trauma-informed and Trauma Therapy: For nervous system regulation and healing
- Attachment work: For insight into relationship and early-life patterns
Integrative care means YOU get to co-create the process. I guide with flexibility, empathy, and a toolbox full of possibilities.
Why Integrative Therapy Matters
To understand why integrative therapy matters, let’s look at a common scenario:
Someone seeks support for anxiety. Pure CBT might shift thinking, but anxiety can be stored in the body—tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, habitual muscle tension. Without addressing the physical experience, new thoughts sometimes don’t stick. Integrative therapy acknowledges this by combining talk, breathwork, movement, and mindfulness—all rooted in evidence.
This kind of fusion:
- Reduces symptoms through multiple pathways
- Deepens emotional insight
- Helps the nervous system feel safe
- Supports change at a physiological level and a relational one
Core Benefits of Integrative Mental Health Therapy
1. Whole-Person Healing
When you’re understood through multiple lenses—thoughts, body, culture, identity—it creates deeper belonging and transformation.
2. Flexibility to Your Needs
Some days you need talk time, other days a grounding exercise. We listen to your rhythm and build your pacing.
3. Skills That Translate to Life
Breathing practices, somatic awareness, journaling, relational tools—these are portable tools you can carry off-season.
4. Cultural & Identity-Safe Care
By honoring intersectional identity (race, gender, sexuality, neurodiversity), integrative therapy meets you where you are. If you’re seeking LGBTQIA+ affirming care, for example, this model is foundational.
What a Session Might Look Like
An integrative session with me might include several components:
- Check-In – Getting grounded with each other and your needs
- Body Awareness – Noticing sensations, posture, or breath that offer clues
- Talk or Creative Exploration – Processing through language or visual expression
- Skill Practice – Guided landing exercise, movement, or somatic tool
- Integration – Debriefing how the experience landed and feels
- Homework/Tools – Suggestions like mindfulness, journaling, or breathwork to practice at home
Because it’s integrative, your internal ecosystem gets care—not just one part.
Who Integrative Therapy Supports
It’s beneficial for many:
- People struggling with anxiety or depression who need a richer toolbox
- Trauma and PTSD survivors responding to complexities of nervous system healing
- Teens, who benefit from creative and somatic safety alongside talk therapy
- Couples using somatic attunement and communication skills together
- Individuals exploring life transitions, identity, purpose, or burnout
It meets you where you’re showing up—and values all parts of your experience.
Integrative Therapy in Action
Without sharing client names, here are real-life impacts I’ve noticed:
- A client with PTSD who gained emotional access after integrating somatic work with talk therapy
- A teen who refused talk therapy but showed up weekly for creative and movement work, which built trust
- A couple who found relational attunement by learning to outwardly reflect internal experience
- A queer adult reconnecting with self through mindfulness, CBT, and expressive journaling
These shifts don’t happen through force but through gentle emergence—and integration.
Aligning Integrative Care with My Practice Offerings
Here’s how integrative therapy flows into different service types:
- Individual Therapy – Customized support tuned to your sensory and cognitive needs
- Teen Therapy – Playful and grounding for developmental safety
- Group Therapy – Skill-building, reflection, embodiment with others
- Online Therapy – Adapted integrative tools virtually for comfort and safety
- Therapy Intensives – Deep dive into multi-day care, ideal for layered healing
- Care Coordination – Integration across providers for consistent support
You can choose the format that best serves your goals and life rhythm.
Taking the First Step
Deciding on therapy is often the hardest part, especially when integrative approaches aren’t mainstream. If you’re curious:
- Explore my Approach page to see why integration matters
- Read about services that feel aligned
- Preview related blog posts like Embracing holistic care
- Check logistics in FAQs, pricing
- When you’re ready, reach out for a free consult to explore alignment
Healing doesn’t have to follow a single road. I see value in weaving experiences and steps that make sense for you.
Final Reflection
Integrative mental health therapy isn’t a luxury—it’s an invitation to know yourself more deeply. To care for complexities rather than simplify them. To feel the entire you held in a safe, responsive container.
If you’re ready to notice your body while naming your story. To act from both clarity and embodiment. To combine self-reflection with self-care practice—this path is for you. I’d be honored to support you in walking it.
Warmly,
Sara