Richard LaBrie

Interest in mind-body connections in psychotherapy has increased significantly in the past 25 years. There is a history of interest in, and support for, this connection that reaches back 5,000 years. Nevertheless, gaps exist between clinical interest and research and actual clinical practice. Issues like the imposition of the biomedical model on psychological thinking and practice, clinician fear and dissonance, time pressure, and habit are possible factors in slowing the progress of mind-body integration practices. Yet, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) has supported the blending of mind-body treatment through mandating the integration of mental and physical health service access. Also, significant data exists in the literature that supports the benefits of mind and body practices and the bidirectional relationships therein. Thus, an opportunity exists to inject mind-body concepts into psychotherapy through positive introductions to the ideas with clients. This can take place at intake or during early assessment and might prime later focus, referral, or intervention. The use of a strengths-based approach might counter the stress of collecting details about problems during early sessions. It might also elicit a focus on self- direction and hopefulness through a motivational interviewing and stages of change design. To address this opportunity, I conducted a literature review, professional interviews, and collected anecdotal field input regarding an ongoing clinical work-product design. The outcome is a short, strengths-based assessment form addressing six mind-body constructs: Physical activity/exercise, eating habits/nutrition, sleep quality, stress management, leisure time and activities, and positive personal relationships. Limitations, feedback analyses, and future directions are presented and explored.