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People sometimes ask how I offer Bioresonance Scanning and Functional Medicine under the same roof.
It’s a fair question. I trained as a medical doctor. I spent fifteen years working within a system that places randomised controlled trials at the top of the evidence hierarchy. I believe in that approach for what it does best.
But I’ve also seen too many people arrive at this clinic after doing everything right by conventional standards. They’ve had normal test results or multiple referrals and they’re still unwell.
This article is my attempt to explain why I work the way I do. And what complementary and alternative therapies actually are, beyond the marketing.
What Is Holistic Therapy?
Holistic therapy describes any approach that considers the whole person. Not just the symptom or diagnosis. The full picture: physical, psychological, emotional, and environmental.
People often use the terms holistic therapy, complementary therapies interchangeably. They’re not quite the same.
Complementary therapies work alongside conventional medical care. For example Acupuncture during cancer treatment. Nutritional support while managing an autoimmune condition with a Rheumatologist. EFT tapping in addition to a GP’s plan.
Alternative therapies are used instead of conventional medicine. This distinction matters. At The Forbes Clinic, we encourage every client to remain under GP supervision and to seek medical investigation where it’s needed.
What we practise is Integrative Medicine. It draws on medical science and a broad range of established, traditional and emerging therapeutic practices. The aim is to address what conventional care often doesn't have time for: the whole person.
The Mind and Body Are Not Separate Systems
This is the idea at the heart of Integrative Medicine and the science supports this more than most people realise
For instance, the field of psychoneuroimmunology (the study of how the mind, nervous system, and immune system interact) has grown substantially over three decades. A landmark 2004 meta-analysis by Segerstrom and Miller, reviewing thirty years of research across nearly 300 studies, found consistent evidence that chronic stress alters immune function in measurable, clinically significant ways.1 Unresolved emotional stress doesn’t stay in the mind. It is also held in the body as physical tension, altered immune response, disrupted hormonal function, and pain.
The gut-brain connection adds another layer. To illustrate, Research has confirmed that the gut and brain communicate continuously via the vagus nerve, a two-way highway carrying signals in both directions.2 The gut produces around 90% of the body's serotonin.3 What does this mean in practice? It means, gut health directly shapes mood, cognition, and emotional regulation and emotional state directly shapes gut function.
We also know that beliefs about treatment affect outcomes. Research into placebo and nocebo effects (how expectation and trust shape physiological response) is among the most replicated in clinical medicine. A substantial body of work by Fabrizio Benedetti at the University of Turin has shown that the nervous system responds to expectation and safety in ways that produce measurable changes in pain signalling, immune activity, and hormone levels.4 Placebo is not just wishful thinking. It is a physiological mechanism.
This is why, when we explore which therapies to recommend, we don’t just ask what the evidence says. We ask what the evidence says for this person, given their history, their body, and what they’re drawn to.
When the Body Is the Route to Better Mental Health
Most people assume that therapies for mental health work through the mind and approaches that involve talking, cognitive restructuring and exploring thought patterns have their place. However, some of the most effective routes to emotional wellbeing work through the body. This often surprises my clients.
Take nutrition and Functional Medicine for example. Deficiencies in B12, iron, magnesium, and vitamin D are among the most common and most overlooked drivers of anxiety, low mood, and cognitive fog. A 2005 paper by Coppen and Bolander-Gouaille, published in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, made the case that B12 and folate status should be assessed as standard in anyone presenting with depression.5 A 2017 randomised controlled trial by Tarleton and colleagues also found magnesium supplementation produced significant improvements in depression and anxiety.6 Research on vitamin D and mood has followed a similar trajectory.7
For many clients who come to us struggling with their mental health, the root cause sits in their biochemistry, not their psychology. Addressing it through functional testing and nutritional support can produce shifts that years of talking therapy had not reached.
Examples of complementary therapies for Mental Health
Craniosacral therapy
A gentle, hands-on holistic approach that works directly with the central nervous system through light touch on the cranium and sacrum. At the clinic, we use it for chronic stress, trauma, sleep disturbance, and chronic pain. In children, it is particularly effective for birth trauma, colic, and emotional dysregulation. Its mechanisms are increasingly documented in the research literature, particularly around nervous system regulation.
A clinically validated device that delivers microcurrent stimulation to the brain, supporting its own natural electrical rhythms. A randomised controlled trial published in the Journal of Affective Disorders by Morriss and colleagues found it significantly reduced symptoms in people with moderate to severe generalised anxiety disorder.8 Some NHS trusts offer it. No drugs, no significant side effects.
Nutrigenomics
Genomic testing that can offer insight into nutritional factors driving mood, cognitive function and emotional disturbances. For example the Nervous System Panel analyses the genetic variations that influence how your body produces and regulates neurotransmitters like serotonin, GABA, and adrenaline. It also examines your stress response via the HPA axis and your neuroinflammatory profile. What this means in practice: two people with identical symptoms of anxiety, low mood, or sleep disruption may have entirely different underlying biochemical patterns driving them. Nutrigenomics can identify which pathways are involved in yours. Informing targeted nutritional and lifestyle interventions built around your individual genetic blueprint.
The route to better mental health is not always through the mind. Sometimes it is through the gut, the nervous system, or cellular function. This is where Integrative Medicine has something to offer that conventional pathways may miss.
When the Mind Is the Route to Physical Healing
The same principle works in reverse and this is where Integrative Medicine often has the most to offer people who have tried everything else. Many physical symptoms have a significant psycho-emotional component. This is not to say the symptoms are imagined. They are real: measurable, debilitating, and deserving of proper clinical attention. It is to say that the emotional and physical are not separate systems. The consequence is that addressing one can produce genuine, documented change in the other.
The mechanism is well-established. For example, chronic stress activates the HPA axis, elevating cortisol and driving systemic inflammation. Furthermore unresolved emotional experience can alter pain signalling, immune regulation, and autonomic nervous system function. The body and mind are in continuous conversation. When that conversation is stuck, physical symptoms often emerge.
Our clients living with chronic pain, medically unexplained symptoms, fibromyalgia or autoimmune disease often feel they have exhausted conventional treatment options. For these clients, the psycho-emotional layer is frequently where the most meaningful progress is made.
Examples of Mind-Based Therapies for Physical Health
Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
Recommended by NICE for the management of chronic primary pain.9 It does not try to eliminate pain. It works with a person’s relationship to pain. The aim is to reduce the resistance, fear, and avoidance that often amplify it. For people living with fibromyalgia, IBS, migraines, or medically unexplained symptoms, ACT may achieve what medication and physical intervention have not.
EFT Tapping (Emotional Freedom Techniques)
Combines cognitive processing with light acupressure on specific meridian points. Best known as a tool for anxiety, a 2016 systematic review by Clond found significant reductions in anxiety across studies.10 But like many emotionally focused approaches, it also produces physiological change. A 2019 analysis by Bach and colleagues found clinical EFT improved cortisol levels, heart rate variability, blood pressure, and immune markers.11 At The Forbes Clinic, we also use it for chronic pain and chronic illness: conditions where the emotional and physical are deeply intertwined. The evidence base for psycho-emotional and somatic therapies in chronic pain continues to grow.
Accesses the subconscious patterns that can drive or maintain physical symptoms. The evidence for hypnotherapy in IBS is particularly strong and the NICE guidance discusses it for the condition. It is also used for sleep disruption, chronic pain, anxiety, and the psychological burden of living with long-term illness.
The thread through all of these approaches is the same. The body holds a record of what the mind and nervous system have experienced. Getting into that record through meaning, memory, and pattern is sometimes the most direct route to physical change.
How We Evaluate Complementary and Alternative Therapies
I want to be honest about something that often goes unspoken in discussions of complementary and alternative medicine.
Not everything we offer carries the same weight of clinical evidence. Many of our therapies have substantial research behind them. Others have a much smaller evidence base, or operate within frameworks that the UK medical community does not yet recognise.
We offer them anyway. Here's why.
Safety First
Firstly, safety is paramount. The modalities we've chosen are low-risk by design: non-invasive, gentle, and largely psycho-spiritual in nature. We selected each one because it offers something meaningful, with minimal potential for harm when practised under professional supervision. We take this approach because we believe our clients deserve access to the full range of approaches that could genuinely support them.
Beyond Placebo: Why Alignment Matters
This is where the placebo and nocebo research we explored earlier becomes directly practical. The therapy a person believes in, trusts, and feels aligned with is more likely to produce meaningful results.⁴ The fit between person and approach matters. Not just philosophically, but physiologically.
Different Forms of Evidence, Different Ways of Knowing
However, alignment is only part of the picture. The absence of a randomised controlled trial is not the same as an absence of evidence. Many of the approaches we offer draw on traditional and indigenous systems of medicine that carry long lineages of observation, clinical testimony, and transmitted practice. Modern research is catching up with some of these. Others may never be formally studied. Clinical research is slow, and the people who come to The Forbes Clinic have often exhausted the well-researched pathways. They cannot afford to wait.
There is also the question of how we value different kinds of knowledge. A 2012 Pew Research Center study found that approximately 84% of the world's population identifies with a religious or spiritual tradition.¹² Put plainly, the overwhelming majority of humans hold beliefs about reality that reach beyond what the Western scientific framework can currently measure. Ultimately, when recovery and healing are at stake, it seems worth asking whether we serve our clients best by limiting ourselves to what can be quantified.
Our Approach, in Practice
We don't ask clients to choose belief over evidence, and we don't impose a single model. Our role is to help each client make an informed decision about which modalities are right for them, in partnership with a qualified practitioner who understands both the scope and the limits of each approach. We follow the evidence where it's strongest, and we follow the person (alongside clinical testimony of traditional and emerging knowledge) where the evidence runs out. This is what it means to take an Integrative and holistic approach to care.
If you’d like to learn more about what this looks like in practice, my new podcast, Healing Stories Podcast with Dr Anna Forbes, shares personal accounts of recovery and healing through Integrative and complementary approaches, in people’s own words.
Our Range of Complementary and Holistic Therapies
Across the clinic, our therapies span the full spectrum of complementary and Integrative Medicine from Physiokey Technology for Pain Relief to Micro-Immunotherapy and Acupuncture.
Our services are available as standalone complementary therapies or as part of a full multi-disciplinary approach.
Across all approaches the principle is the same. We work holistically with the whole person, building a plan that’s truly coordinated around you.
How This Works in Practice
Our comprehensive starting point is the Integrative Health Assessment. It’s a 90-minute consultation with an Integrative Medicine Doctor that takes your full health history, your symptoms, your lifestyle, and your lived experience as its focus.
From there, we use the Five Pillars framework to identify where your particular pattern of symptoms is most likely rooted: nutrient deficiencies, environmental load, structural tension, psycho-emotional stress, or epigenetic factors. Most people present with more than one layer.
True healing goes beyond just addressing symptoms. When we restore the body’s natural balance, physically, emotionally, and spiritually, lasting health becomes possible.
You don’t need to arrive knowing which therapy is right for you. Working that out is what we are here for.
Start With a Discovery Call
If any of this resonates, a Discovery Call is the natural first step.
It’s a 15-minute conversation with a member of our team. A chance to talk through where you are, what you’ve already tried, and whether The Forbes Clinic is the right fit for what you need next. There is no obligation. The fee is £50, which is fully deductible from your Integrative Health Assessment if you choose to go ahead.
We start where most consultations stop. If you’re ready to explore that, we’d love to talk.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is holistic therapy?
Holistic therapy describes any health approach that considers the whole person (physical, psychological, emotional, and environmental) rather than an isolated symptom or diagnosis.
What is the difference between complementary and alternative therapies?
Complementary therapies are used alongside conventional medicine. Alternative therapies are used instead of it. At The Forbes Clinic, all approaches are offered as complementary to, not replacements for, conventional medical care.
What are examples of complementary therapies?
Acupuncture, craniosacral therapy, EFT tapping, hypnotherapy, Traditional Chinese Medicine, nutritional therapy, Alpha-Stim®, bioresonance scanning, and Physiokey Scenar therapy are all examples of complementary therapies available at The Forbes Clinic.
What are the most popular alternative therapies?
Acupuncture, homeopathy, and herbal medicine are among the most widely used. Other commonly sought approaches include hypnotherapy, EFT tapping, Functional Medicine, and Traditional Chinese Medicine. All are available the The Forbes Clinic.
Can complementary therapies support chronic illness?
Many people living with chronic conditions (including fibromyalgia, autoimmune disease, IBS, chronic fatigue, anxiety, and chronic pain) explore complementary therapies as part of a broader plan. At The Forbes Clinic, these approaches are usually integrated and coordinated. However many clients choose to engage a complimentary therapy as a standalone approach alongside their primary care.
Are complementary and alternative therapies safe alongside conventional medicine?
When properly assessed and practised by qualified practitioners, complementary therapies can be used safely alongside conventional care. It is important to inform your GP and all practitioners of everything you are receiving. It’s also important to provide full and complete health information to our practitioners so that they can assess any possible contraindications for support.
References
- Segerstrom SC, Miller GE. Psychological stress and the human immune system: a meta-analytic study of 30 years of inquiry. Psychological Bulletin. 2004;130(4):601–630.
- Mayer EA. Gut feelings: the emerging biology of gut-brain communication. Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 2011;12(8):453–466.
- Yano JM, et al. Indigenous bacteria from the gut microbiota regulate host serotonin biosynthesis. Cell. 2015;161(2):264–276.
- Benedetti F. Placebo Effects: Understanding the Mechanisms in Health and Disease. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press; 2014.
- Coppen A, Bolander-Gouaille C. Treatment of depression: time to consider folic acid and vitamin B12. Journal of Psychopharmacology. 2005;19(1):59–65.
- Tarleton EK, et al. Role of magnesium supplementation in the treatment of depression: a randomized clinical trial. PLOS ONE. 2017;12(6):e0180067.
- Shaffer JA, et al. Vitamin D supplementation for depressive symptoms: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Psychosomatic Medicine. 2014;76(3):190–196.
- Morriss R, et al. Clinical effectiveness and cost minimisation model of Alpha-Stim cranial electrotherapy stimulation in treatment seeking patients with moderate to severely severe generalised anxiety disorder. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2019;253:426–437.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Chronic pain (primary and secondary) in over 16s: assessment of all chronic pain and management of chronic primary pain. NICE guideline NG193. 2021.
- Clond M. Emotional Freedom Techniques for anxiety: a systematic review with meta-analysis. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease. 2016;204(5):388–395.
- Bach D, et al. Clinical EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) improves multiple physiological markers of health. Journal of Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine. 2019;24:1–12.
- Pew Research Center. (2012, December 18). The Global Religious Landscape: A Report on the Size and Distribution of the World's Major Religious Groups as of 2010. Pew-Templeton Global Religious Futures Project. https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2012/12/18/global-religious-landscape-exec/
