Therapy Room
Coordinated Trauma Care
Therapy becomes more effective when it is coordinated with different specialists. Find out how you can involve your doctor in your therapy.
Coordinated Trauma Care
Effective improvements in your mental health start with coordinated care. Because of my nursing background, I always think about the physical aspect of our well-being. There are many simple steps you can take with the help of your doctor, to start improving your psychological wellbeing. Your physical health is directly influencing your mood and they way you think. Often, a simple correction of a vitamin or mineral deficiency, can help improve your mood and sustain your progress in therapy.
Here are some recommendations I usually give my clients at the beginning and throughout the therapy:
1. Start with a Complete Blood Work and a physical exam. When was the last time you’ve had complete blood work done? Complete blood work is the first step to detect possible deficiencies or problems. What to look for?
- Blood sugar levels. These have a connection to anxiety, impulsivity, attention, and mood changes. Sugar cravings, midday “dips” – all these could be related to abnormal fluctuations in your blood glucose.
- Vitamins D and B12. Deficiencies in these vitamins are related to depressed mood, anxiety, sensitive nervous system.
- White Blood Cells. Abnormal levels of these may indicate inflammation, infections and other problems.
- Thyroid Function. Abnormal functioning of your thyroid can exacerbate anxiety or depression, depending on whether it is under- or over- active.
- Iron. Deficiency in this mineral can make anxiety and depression worse.
- Blood Pressure and Heart. Abnormal pulse patterns often cause anxiety (heart beating too fast = more anxiety).
2. Use of medications to manage anxiety, depression, ADHD and PTSD. Clients often ask my opinion on using medications to manage mental health. Here is my opinion: It is great to be able to manage without the medications and it is worth trying everything else before medications. Medications do not address your deep psychological problems, they help manage symptoms. If you can manage your symptoms without medication - great. But sometimes symptoms are so severe that it becomes difficult to manage on your own. The negative thoughts, panic attacks and nervous system activation can be so overwhelming that people feel they cannot control them. Medication can help “lower the volume” on those symptoms and allow the person to meaningfully engage in therapy.
Sometimes clients tell me the medication did not work for them. Not everything works for everyone. It is already proven that your genetics determine how you react to medications. The link to government publication about pharmacogenomics testing is attached to this post for your reference.
If one medication did not work, it does not mean another will not. Follow up with your doctor often, and keep an eye out for different options.
3. Some Medications May Affect Therapy. Some medications and substances affect your brain and how it responds to therapy. This is especially true for approaches that are more than talk therapy, such as EMDR and Lifespan Integration. These approaches work with your memory, and certain medications (such as anticholinergic antipsychotic drugs and benzodiazepines), may affect memory processing and integration.
4. I am happy to talk to your doctor. Even though I don’t practice nursing anymore, my ability to talk to doctors can help my clients get the care they need. A nurse is the heart, and the doctor is the brain. The nurse communicates and advocates on your behalf so that you get the best care from the doctor. Collaboration with your doctor, where appropriate, is an important first step in memory work and trauma care. My clients can request a free one-page PDF that explains my approach, medication interactions and an invitation to collaborate with their doctor.
Things I can do to help your doctor:
- Provide screening for a variety of disorders so they can investigate further
- Describe your symptoms in a way they will listen
- Help coordinate your medications and therapy.
Stay Healthy!
Real.Joyful.Defiant
Karyna Capote, MC, RCC
Copyright 2026©
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