Holistic psychotherapy for a life lived in a body
Holistic psychotherapy in New York for people who sense that their feelings are tied to their body, their history, their identity and the world they move through.
Your emotional life does not happen in isolation. It is shaped by your nervous system, your relationships, your sense of who you are and the environments you live and work in. Holistic psychotherapy brings all of this into the therapy hour. Some sessions are mostly conversation; others involve pausing to notice what your body is doing. Either way, we move at your pace, with room to explore rather than a script to follow.
“You are not a mind that happens to have a body. You are one living system, and therapy works best when it speaks to all of you.”
Holistic psychotherapy listens to thoughts, sensations, relationships and context together, because that is how you actually experience your life.
Therapy that includes all of you
Holistic psychotherapy is talk therapy that treats your emotions as inseparable from your body, nervous system, identity, relationships and surroundings.
Traditional talk therapy can be enormously helpful, yet many people reach a point where they understand their patterns perfectly and still feel them run the show. Holistic psychotherapy recognises that insight alone is not always enough. Feelings are held in posture, breath, sleep and habit as much as in thought, so we work with those layers too. The result is therapy that can reach places careful explanation has not.
In practice, a session might begin with whatever is most alive for you: a conflict at work, a dream, a recurring sense of dread. As we talk, I may invite you to notice what happens in your chest or hands, or to stay with a feeling a little longer before analysing it. Other times we will look outward, at how your home, job, community or culture is shaping how you feel.
This is not a separate technique bolted onto therapy. It is a way of listening. Whatever we are discussing, I keep in mind the whole of your life, including your physical health, your rhythms and the identities you carry, so nothing important is left outside the door.
How it differs from holistic psychiatry
Holistic psychiatry is medical care: assessment, diagnosis and, where helpful, medication or supplements, placed in a whole-person context. Holistic psychotherapy is the therapeutic relationship itself: regular sessions focused on understanding and changing how you feel, relate and live. Because I offer both, you can receive either on its own or combine them within one relationship if that serves you.
Identity and environment in the room
My background in gender theory, feminist philosophy and visual art, and my years as an LGBTQIA+ primary care provider, shape how I think about the person in front of me. Your gender, sexuality, culture, body and creative life are not side notes. They are central to how you experience the world, and they belong in therapy as fully as your symptoms do.
When talking alone isn't enough
Holistic psychotherapy often suits people who have tried therapy before and want something that reaches further, as well as those coming to therapy for the first time who sense their difficulties are more than mental. You might recognise yourself in some of the following.
- Disconnected from your body or emotions
- Stuck despite years of insight
- Trauma that words cannot reach
- Physical tension tied to stress
- Relationship patterns that repeat
- Feeling your experience defies a diagnosis
- Identity shaping how you feel
- Creative or spiritual questions
- Wanting depth, not just coping skills
- Wanting therapy that sees context
Six threads we weave together
Holistic psychotherapy is defined less by any single method than by what it pays attention to. These are the dimensions I keep in view, giving more weight to some than others depending on what you bring each week.
Emotional life
We explore feelings, memories and meaning in depth, giving space to what is difficult as well as what is hopeful. Understanding your inner world remains at the heart of the work.
The body's signals
Sensation, posture and breath carry information. Noticing them helps us find feelings before they become overwhelming and reach experiences that were never put into words.
Nervous system state
Anxiety, shutdown and irritability often reflect a nervous system under strain. We learn to recognise your states and build capacity to return to steadiness more easily.
Relationships
Partners, family, friends and colleagues all shape how you feel. We look at relational patterns honestly and notice how they appear in our own relationship too.
Identity and culture
Gender, sexuality, heritage, faith and class influence what you feel allowed to want. We explore these with respect and curiosity, never treating difference as pathology.
Rhythms and environment
Sleep, work, home, movement and the city itself affect emotional health. We consider small, practical changes alongside deeper exploration, so therapy connects to daily life.
Going beyond the talking cure
Conventional talk therapy and holistic psychotherapy share a respect for conversation. The difference lies in what else is welcomed into the room.
Talk-only therapy
- Focus mainly on thoughts and narrative
- Body rarely mentioned
- Identity treated as background
- Environment seen as outside scope
- Insight treated as the main goal
Holistic psychotherapy
- Thoughts, feelings and sensation together
- The body as a source of wisdom
- Identity central to understanding you
- Home, work and culture in the frame
- Insight plus felt, lived change
Beginning holistic psychotherapy
An unhurried start so we can understand the whole of your life.
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1
Free consultation 15 minutes
A short call to talk about what is bringing you to therapy, what you have tried before, and what you hope might be different. You can ask how a holistic session actually feels and whether it suits you.
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2
Whole-life first session 90 minutes
We explore your emotional history, relationships, physical health, sleep, identity and environment. I will ask how stress shows up in your body and where you feel most and least like yourself.
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3
Agreeing our focus
Together we decide what to prioritise and how much body-based work feels right. Some people want mostly conversation with occasional somatic moments; others want the body front and centre.
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4
Regular sessions 60 or 90 minutes
Regular sessions build continuity. We review regularly what is helping, and if psychiatric support becomes useful, it can be added within the same relationship rather than through a referral.
Francesca Rome-Marie, PMHNP-BC
I bring together psychiatry, psychotherapy, somatic work and whole-body health, informed by years in primary care and further study in gender theory, feminist thought, culture and visual art.
I keep a deliberately small caseload so that every client receives consistent, unhurried and genuinely attentive care, held within one relationship rather than split across several providers.
Clear, upfront rates
I don't accept insurance. Modern Holistic Psychiatry is an out-of-network provider, so sessions are paid for directly. Depending on your plan, you may be able to claim reimbursement through your out-of-network benefits.
Find out how much your insurance may coverNeed urgent support? If you're in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, call or text 988 (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline) or call 911.
Holistic Psychotherapy FAQs
What does a holistic psychotherapy session feel like?
Much of it will feel like conversation. The difference is that I may occasionally invite you to pause, notice your breathing or describe a sensation, or we may talk about how your environment or identity is affecting you. Nothing is required; you can always decline a suggestion. Over time most people find these moments make the work feel more alive and grounded.
Is holistic psychotherapy evidence-based?
It draws on established approaches including psychoanalytic, relational, CBT-informed, DBT-informed and somatic methods, combined with attention to physical health and context. The holistic part is less a new technique than a wider field of attention. I explain the reasoning behind anything we try so you can make informed choices.
Do I have to do body-based exercises?
No. Somatic elements are invitations, not requirements. Some people love working with the body; others find it uncomfortable at first, especially after trauma. We go at your pace, start small, and you can say no at any point. Simply noticing a sensation while talking is often enough.
I have had talk therapy before and still feel stuck. Could this help?
It may. People often arrive after years of therapy that gave them insight without lasting change. Bringing in the body, the nervous system and the context of your life can shift patterns that understanding alone has not. We would also look at what did and did not help previously.
Can I combine holistic psychotherapy with medication?
Yes. I am a board-certified psychiatric nurse practitioner, so if medication might help, we can consider it within the same relationship. Many people prefer this to seeing separate providers. Equally, many clients come for psychotherapy alone and never need a prescription.
Is holistic psychotherapy spiritual?
It can include spiritual or existential questions if they matter to you, and my study of global religion and culture helps me engage with them respectfully. It is not tied to any belief system, though, and you never need to share beliefs you do not hold.
Where is holistic psychotherapy available?
I see clients across New York State, with my practice based at 41 Union Square West in Manhattan. A free 15-minute consultation is the easiest way to check availability and discuss fit.
Therapy for the whole of you
If you are ready for therapy that welcomes your body, history and identity, let us talk. Book a free 15-minute consultation to explore working together.