Sometimes clients (usually newer to me and just getting to know me) apologize for researching a counseling method or approach I may use in my office. They may research EMDR for a certain type of anxiety or a polyvagal technique to help understand their parasympathetic response better. They will usually say something like “I know I shouldn’t have read about this because I probably will not understand it” or “I know you’re the expert and you will most likely know the best approach”.
First off, I always want my clients to feel like they can come to me regarding research they have done and ask questions. There are a lot of great sources for understanding health and medical information for consumers who don’t have a medical background or have a limited medical background.
My clients are the experts on themselves, not me. Understanding different approaches for mental health challenges or for physical health concerns is valuable for them to make the most informed decision for themselves. I think it is very important for clients to increase their own health literacy so they can have collaborative conversations with their medical team.
Health literacy is one of those quiet “life skills” that shapes how you interpret symptoms, how you choose care, how you navigate insurance, how you weigh a supplement or medication’s benefits and risks, how you decide whether a TikTok wellness trend is helpful or harmful. And yet, some people have never been taught how to make sense of health information in a way that feels empowering rather than overwhelming.
As an integrative therapist, I see health literacy as emotional support in action. It’s not about turning therapy into a medical appointment or asking clients to become experts. It’s about helping people understand their own bodies, make informed choices, and feel less at the mercy of confusing systems, contradictory advice, and fear-driven messaging. When health literacy increases, anxiety often decreases. Not because life becomes perfect, but because clients feel more oriented, more resourced, and more able to advocate for themselves.
What “Health Literacy” Really Means and Why It Matters In Therapy
Health literacy is the ability to find, understand, evaluate, and use health information to make decisions. That might include knowing what questions to ask a doctor, understanding lab results at a basic level, recognizing trustworthy sources, reading medication instructions correctly, or making sense of a diagnosis.
But in real life, health literacy can also be deeply emotional.
For some clients, medical information is tied to experiences of feeling dismissed, misunderstood, or shamed. Others have histories of medical trauma, chronic illness, or family patterns where the body was ignored until it screamed. Some grew up in homes where health care wasn’t accessible, where language barriers complicated everything, or where mental health and physical health were treated as separate worlds.
So when we talk about increasing health literacy, we’re not just talking about knowledge; we’re talking about power, safety, and agency.
Integrative Therapy Focuses On The Whole Person, Body Included
Integrative therapy is inherently interested in the whole system: mind, body, relationships, nervous system, environment, beliefs, and lived experience. When a client is struggling, whether with panic, depression, grief, trauma, or relationship stress, there’s often a physical component right alongside the psychological one.
Sleep disruptions. Hormonal shifts. Gut symptoms. Chronic pain. Migraines. Fatigue. Appetite changes. Elevated inflammation. Side effects from medications. Overuse of caffeine. Under-eating. Blood sugar swings. Stress that never turns off.
Sometimes clients feel embarrassed bringing these up in therapy, as if they’re “off topic.” I see them as essential data. Not because therapy should diagnose, but because the body is providing some important information.
When clients build health literacy, they become better at reading those signals
with compassion instead of fear. They learn to ask: What might my body be responding to? What do I need? What support is available? That shift toward curiosity rather than catastrophizing is therapeutic.
Health Literacy Reduces Health Anxiety and Doom-Spiraling
Sometimes clients come to therapy with health anxiety, symptom-focused worry, or a deep fear that something is being missed. And honestly, unreliable health resources on the internet can make things worse. You can type in a mild headache and leave convinced you have something fatal.
Health literacy doesn’t mean “stop Googling.” It means learning how to Google responsibly (or deciding when not to), how to interpret information without spiraling, and how to return to the present moment.
In therapy, we can explore things like:
- How uncertainty feels in your body
- What happens internally when you don’t have immediate answers
- How past experiences with illness or loss shape your current fear response
- Which sources tend to trigger you, and which help you feel grounded
- How to create a plan for symptoms that balances vigilance with nervous system regulation
When clients understand the basics of how stress affects the body and how common certain sensations actually are, it often softens the intensity of their fear. Not because their symptoms aren’t real, but because they’re no longer interpreting every sensation through a threat lens.
It Supports Informed Consent and Ethical Care
One of the most important reasons I care about health literacy is that it helps clients participate in their own care with clarity. Informed consent is not just something that happens in a doctor’s office or a therapist’s office. It’s a life practice. When clients understand their options, they’re less likely to agree to things out of panic, people-pleasing, or helplessness. They can ask questions like:
- What are the benefits and risks of this treatment?
- What are alternatives?
- What happens if I do nothing right now?
- How will we measure whether this is working?
- What side effects should I watch for?
- Can you explain that in a different way?
This isn’t about mistrusting providers. It’s about collaboration. And it’s especially important for clients who have a history of being dismissed due to gender, race, body size, disability status, mental health stigma, or trauma history. Health literacy can be a form of protection. It helps clients spot warning signs early, feel confident asking for a second opinion, and find providers who listen, explain, and treat them with genuine respect.
It’s A Trauma-Informed Way To Rebuild Agency
Trauma often leaves people feeling powerless in their bodies. For some, the body becomes something to override, control, criticize, or numb out from. For others, the body feels unpredictable, an unsafe place to live.
Building health literacy can be part of trauma healing because it restores a sense of orientation. It helps clients become more attuned, not in a hypervigilant way, but in a grounded, self-trusting way.
It can sound like:
- “I can tell the difference between anxiety sensations and when I’m actually getting sick.”
- “I know what questions to ask.”
- “I’m allowed to advocate for myself.”
- “I’m learning my body’s patterns.”
- “I can take care of myself without panicking.”
That’s not “just education.” That’s nervous system repair.
It Bridges the Gap Between Mental Health and Physical Health
Clients have shared stories where they have been told either directly or indirectly, “It’s just anxiety.” Sometimes anxiety is absolutely part of the picture. But that phrase has also been used to dismiss real medical conditions, especially in women and marginalized populations.
Integrative therapy can hold both truths: the body and mind are connected, and symptoms deserve thoughtful care.
Increasing health literacy helps clients avoid the trap of either/or thinking:
- Either it’s psychological or physical
- Either I’m “making it up” or something is catastrophically wrong
Instead, we build a both/and framework:
- Stress can create real symptoms and we can rule out medical causes
- Trauma can affect digestion and you deserve an appropriate workup
- Depression can impact energy and sleep, and factors like hormones, iron levels, thyroid function, or inflammation may also be part of the picture
How An Integrative Therapist Can Support Health Literacy (Without Practicing Medicine)
This part matters: therapists are not medical providers unless they hold additional credentials, and this should be clear about scope. Health literacy support is not diagnosing, prescribing, or interpreting labs in a medical way.
It is:
- Helping clients prepare for medical appointments (questions, scripts, organization)
- Processing emotional responses to diagnoses, symptoms, and medical trauma
- Teaching stress physiology and mind-body connections
- Supporting behavior change in a compassionate, non-shaming way
- Encouraging collaboration within the medical team if needed
- Identifying when a referral is appropriate
- Helping clients evaluate information sources and reduce overwhelm
What Clients Often Gain When Their Health Literacy Grows
When health literacy increases, I often see a few meaningful shifts:
- Less fear, more clarity. Clients feel steadier in the face of uncertainty.
- More agency. Clients ask questions, set boundaries, and seek the care they deserve.
- Better self-attunement. Clients recognize patterns and respond earlier rather than waiting until they’re depleted.
- More realistic expectations. Clients can evaluate “quick fixes” and choose sustainable support.
- Improved collaboration. Clients build better relationships with providers because they’re participating actively.
Health Literacy Is Self-Trust
If you’ve ever left a medical appointment feeling confused, dismissed, or flooded with information you didn’t know how to hold, you’re not alone. It can be hard to navigate health systems, interpret conflicting messages, or make decisions without spiraling.
In integrative therapy, increasing health literacy can be a quiet but powerful form of healing. It’s not about perfection. It’s about building your capacity to understand, ask, choose, and advocate, so you feel more at home in your body and more grounded in your care.
If you want support making sense of what you’re experiencing, emotionally, physically, or both, therapy can be a place to slow down and get oriented. We can sort through the noise together, strengthen your inner compass, and help you build a relationship with your health that’s rooted in compassion, clarity, and real-life sustainability. Please schedule a phone consult today if this blog resonated with you, and you can ask me questions about how I help clients increase their health literacy.
