In our new release, Healing Leaders, the authors address the importance of leaders healing themselves to in turn engender healing environments and organizations. Healing ourselves mentally and spiritually takes many forms, and we’re all familiar with the standard practices (journaling, time in nature, etc.) But there are some surprising and unconventional approaches to healing that remain equally effective. Here are just five:
1. Novels as Therapy (Bibliotherapy)
What it is: In bibliotherapy, people read stories that mirror their struggles; through identification with characters, they often experience emotional release and new insights. Studies show readers often move through stages of identification, catharsis, and insight while reading “therapeutic literature.”
This works because: Stories can change how the brain interprets experiences and because fiction sometimes produces deeper emotional processing than straight advice because it gives necessary distance. Some therapists literally prescribe novels they know will connect with the individual.
2. Healing Through the Senses (Psychosensory Therapy)
What it is: Some therapies focus on touch, sound, and sensory stimulation rather than talking. Psychosensory therapy uses physical stimuli—like tapping, touch, or sound—to influence emotional states and treat anxiety and tensions.
This works because: Emotional memories are partly stored in sensory networks, not just thoughts (think about how 75% of emotions are triggered by smell). By reconnecting with the senses, you reconnect with the emotions and triggers and address them.
3. Acting Out/Creating/Expressing Your Inner Life (Expressive Arts Therapy)
What it is: Instead of talking about emotions, people dance, paint, improvise, or create art to process them. Expressive therapy uses creative activities—drama, movement, storytelling, and music—to help people explore emotions and trauma through imagination and embodiment.
This works because: It bypasses the analytical brain which can often act as a barrier to getting to the issues and helps accesses emotions through other ways that words can’t reach. Movement and art can sometimes access parts of the mind that conversation cannot.
4. Virtual Reality Healing
What it is: An emerging therapy uses immersive virtual environments to reduce stress or process trauma. Researchers are developing virtual nature and immersive environments that simulate calming settings (like forests) to reduce stress and anxiety.
This works because: The brain often reacts to virtual experiences almost as if they were real but the immersive environment is not always available or even viable. Virtual reality treatment is now used for trauma, phobias, and stress reduction
5. Re-designing Your Environment
What it is: Instead of changing thoughts, some approaches focus on changing the physical environment. Studies have found that people improved their outlook and mood by adding natural materials, rearranging spaces, and redesigning their environment to create a sense of control and connection.
This works because: The brain constantly responds to physical surroundings and reacts to them – so creating a positively-triggering space actually influences your mind. Also, a sense of environmental control can restore a sense of agency. Think about how room, lighting, materials, and space influence mental states more than most people realize.
The bottom line is that these approaches work not by changing thoughts directly but by changing experience—through story, senses, movement, immersion, or environment.
