The Mind-Body Connection; How We Integrate Therapy into Healthcare

Clay Ersa-Davis
May 12
3 min read

By Clay Ersa-Davis

At the Hunger and Health Coalition, mental health care is more accessible than you might think, meet Kim Carter, the therapist on staff who's here to help you heal from all sides and factors in every aspect of your health, "We are so fortunate to offer integrated care to our patients for free," says Kim.

Integrated care offers patients a team-based approach that is tailored to each individual person's needs. This approach combines physical and mental health services in one setting. She prides herself on her ability to treat patients alongside the clinical team, which includes a primary care provider, nutritionist, social worker, lab tech, pharmacist, and specialty doctors, along with food and medication assistance.

Kim is passionate about treating people from a holistic perspective and honoring the mind-body connection. She often relays this to her patients by saying, “Mind follows body and body follows mind. If you're physically sick and or dealing with a chronic medical condition, chances are your mental health is going to be affected. If you're struggling to manage stress or a mental health condition, you're probably going to feel it in

your body."

Illustrating this connection helps her patients notice how intertwined the two, mind and body, can be. Her goal is to help patients feel as comfortable and safe as possible within their body and mind while inspiring confidence and motivation to make the changes her patients would prioritize.

Kim has therapeutically navigated the mind and body connection with her patients for over 20 years thus far in her career. She has received a certificate from the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine, which focuses on educating patients to adapt resiliency while counteracting stress. Kim received her master’s degree in clinical health psychology at Appalachian State University, where her local expertise gives understanding to the difficulties of rural life.

Kim provided services for The Hospitality House while obtaining her master’s degree. Upon completion and graduation of her studies, Kim began serving at New River Behavioral Health, then the counseling center at Appalachian State University. Because of this experience, she was able to gain an insightful understanding of the varieties and complexities of a person's potential mental health needs.

To get an even clearer visual on what a session could look like, this is Kim's office set up. She intentionally uses lamps and cozy decor to help make her clients feel more comfortable, safe and open in their sessions.

Kim recognizes the reservations that may keep someone from initiating treatment. When you walk into Kim’s office and sit down it feels like a sigh of relief. Everyone experiences challenges throughout their journey in life and we live in trying times. Therapy provides an opportunity to slow down, catch your breath and talk to someone who is objective, non judgmental and able to offer you different perspectives and new strategies to cope.

Managing therapy appointments with a busy schedule can be burdensome and therefore Kim offers remote sessions when needed.

For our Latina and Spanish speaking patients, Kim works with an interpreter to provide individual therapy. She also offers these patients a Women's group which meets on the first Monday of every month. They focus on stress management and mindfulness based techniques, and various wellness/life skills.

Kim is able to handle most any topic and will pull in specialists or make referrals if needed. She has experience working with the following topics: chronic stress management, living with chronic health conditions, managing financial and workplace stress, depression, anxiety, grief, major life transitions, school issues, adult ADHD, sexual harassment, addiction/substance use, self esteem/confidence issues, relationship issues/interpersonal stress, mood and sleep disorders, women's issues, and more. She has an eclectic approach and tailors treatment to fit each individual person. She pulls from Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT), Trauma Informed Care (TIC) and Motivational Interviewing (MI).

Main Types of Therapy Kim Practices

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) CBT operates under the belief that thoughts create feelings, feelings create behavior, and behavior reinforces thought. Helps patients feel in control over their symptoms.	Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT) DBT is a type of CBT that incorporates mindfulness to help challenge strong emotions often associated with personality disorders.
Trauma Informed Care (TIC) A framework that helps handle those who have trauma with more compassion and sensitivity. It relies on 5 basic principles; safety, trustworthiness, choice, collaboration and empowerment.	Motivational interviewing (MI) A collaborative, goal-oriented style of communication with particular attention to the language of change. Helps strengthen personal motivation for and commitment to a goal by eliciting and exploring the person’s own reasons for change.