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Whole-person mental health therapy for when standard therapy hasn't been enough
Why You're Here
If you’re here, you’ve probably already tried a lot of the right things. You’ve gained insight and done meaningful healing work already.
But you’re still searching. Something feels incomplete.
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It’s not for lack of trying. You’ve arrived at this point after investing significant time and effort into things like therapy, personal growth, self-help, or spiritual exploration, yet you still feel trapped in the cycles that led you to seek help in the first place.
Your insight has deepened, and the past makes sense, but lasting change still feels elusive.
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Now, you’re at a turning point: there’s a confusing gap between where you are and where you thought this healing work would get you. This moment is often confusing, disorienting, and discouraging.
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Yet here’s the good news:
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1. These experiences don’t mean therapy won’t work.
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They certainly don’t mean that you failed.
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They’re the natural result of healing that happens in pieces rather than as a whole.
Why Therapy and Healing Often Stall
After many years in the field, I began seeing a pattern that I didn’t see anyone else naming.
For most people, healing stalls not because they haven’t tried hard enough, but because their mental health has been approached in pieces.
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Mental health care often focuses on one domain at a time: thoughts, emotions, behavior, relationships, trauma, behavior change, spirituality, or even biochemistry or neuroscience. Each of these approaches can be valuable and meaningful on its own.
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The problem is not that these approaches are wrong. It’s that they are rarely brought together into wholeness.
This is what keeps people stuck.
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As a result, therapy often looks like this:
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Supporting emotions without creating concrete, lasting change
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Gaining insight without shifting underlying nervous system patterns
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Encouraging spiritual expansion without grounding it in daily life
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Focusing on behavior change without understanding the emotions driving it
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Exploring the past while neglecting present patterns and future direction
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Emphasizing solutions before emotions have been fully processed or integrated
When healing happens in fragments, progress stalls. Symptoms may shift or partially improve, but the deeper patterns that sustain them remain intact. Over time, people may feel they’ve done a great deal of work without arriving at the sense of resolution they were hoping for.
What is missing is a psychology of wholeness.
One that looks at how the mind, emotions, nervous system, history, lifestyle, meaning, and physiology interact, and brings them together instead of isolating them.
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That integrated lens is what allows healing to move beyond insight or coping and take root as lasting, embodied change.
How I Work: Integrative, Holistic Therapy
At Alternative Therapy STL, my work is integrative by design. I don’t start with just one technique or therapeutic method. I start with understanding.
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My role is to help you make sense of the whole picture of your life and wellness, not just isolated symptoms. I help you:
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See how different domains of your experience interact
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Identify where things are out of balance
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Uncover what may have been missed before
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Intentionally choose what to address first
We work collaboratively. You bring your lived experience, inner wisdom, and a sense of what matters most to you. I bring clinical expertise, pattern recognition, multi-disciplinary training, and a whole-person lens. Together, we map what’s happening and determine a path forward that makes sense for you.
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Rather than relying on manualized, one-size-fits-all protocols, I use my integrative assessment to create a personalized approach tailored to your unique situation. This helps us focus on what will actually help you rather than just add more effort. ​
I believe in you wholeheartedly.
Healing is possible with hope, the right map, and a big picture vision. You won’t feel bad forever. You won’t be in therapy forever.
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I’m not just here to help you cope indefinitely. I’m here to help you get better, and I’m here to help you thrive.
Results People Often Experience Through My Holistic Therapy Approach
As a result of our work together, people often describe experiencing:
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Greater emotional steadiness and nervous system resilience
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More clarity about their needs, feelings, and boundaries
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Increased confidence and self-trust
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A deeper sense of alignment between their inner life and daily choices
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Deeper and more fulfilling relationships
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Less reactivity to old patterns and past experiences
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A growing sense of empowerment across multiple areas of life
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Not just recovery, but a greater capacity to truly thrive
Change looks different for each person. Our work focuses on building capacity where it matters most for you, so progress is meaningful, sustainable, and integrated into your life.
Start With Clarity: A Free Holistic Snapshot
This short, whole-person check-in is the first step in my signature integrative assessment process. It helps you see your emotional, physical, and spiritual wellbeing in relationship, so we can begin with clarity rather than guesswork.
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In just a few minutes, you’ll gain a structured snapshot of where support may be most needed and where meaningful change can begin.
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With the BHWQ, you will:
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Identify the areas of your life most ready for support
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See your wellness across ten essential domains
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Gain insight into root causes that may be overlooked
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Clarify where you feel most ready to grow
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Begin a structured, whole-person approach to your wellbeing
You can download the BHWQ for free below.
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Therapy for Anxiety, Trauma, Self-Esteem, and Other Concerns
The Whole Person Compass: My Framework for Mental Health & Wellness
To support your growth, I created the Whole Person Compass © : a simple framework that helps us understand where you feel strong, what needs attention, and how different areas of your life influence one another. Most people experience an imbalance in one or more areas. Lasting change happens when these areas are addressed in relationship, rather than in isolation.
North: Meaning & Direction
Purpose, values, spirituality, sense of direction in life, inner guidance
West: Relationships & Expression
Relationships, work, boundaries, contribution, and creativity
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East: Inner Experience & Regulation
Emotional and mental health, stress patterns, trauma, and nervous system regulation
South: Body Care & Behavior
Physical health, lifestyle, sleep, nutrition, movement, and self-care
We explore how these domains interact, where support is needed, and how to restore balance for lasting change.
Alternative Therapy STL Testimonials
“With Emma, you can go on a lovely trip inwards if you want to heal your inner world in a professional, safe, and personal setting and place.
I think she’s a lovely person, she’s so supportive, creative and grounded, a great listener, knows what she’s doing and willing to help you the best she can.”
- P.O.
“The best thing about Emma is that she SAW me. I felt seen and accepted immediately. It’s Emma's ability to turn your perceived weaknesses into strengths that was so different from any other help I’ve received. For someone that is super critical of everything I do, this was the real game-changer- to see my patterns, accept them, and then use them to my advantage.
- Riss W.
“Emma is an incredible therapist and person. She is highly intuitive, empathetic, and is able to hold the space for you as you process your emotions and situations in your life. She is able to sort through different experiences and help you find clarity in the chaos. I highly recommend Emma as a therapist.”
- Past Therapy Client
What Working Together Looks Like in 3 Steps
I don’t offer open-ended therapy without a plan, or emotional support without change.
I balance depth and solutions, head and heart, right brain and left brain, mind and body.
Our goals are empowerment, increased capacity, clarity, and real relief.
Who My Integrative Therapy Practice Is Best Suited For
People who are open-minded, self-aware, and growth-oriented
People wanting to take ownership of their healing
People open to working with their body, not just their thoughts
​ People who value depth, integration, and real change
My practice tends to not be the best fit for people looking for single solutions, cookie-cutter approaches, quick fixes, or are not ready to make changes.
About Emma Donovan, MA, LPC, LCPC
Emma Donovan, LPC, is a Licensed Professional Counselor in Missouri and Illinois and is board-certified in mental health therapy, coaching, and holistic nutrition.
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She has pursued graduate-level education across mental health therapy, nutrition and functional medicine, and a doctorate in whole health leadership.
Her integrative approach is informed by advanced training in psychotherapy, nervous system and trauma work, functional and nutritional mental health, spiritual counseling, psychedelic therapy, and neuroscience-informed methods, including IFS, hypnosis, and neurofeedback.​