Science Said You Were Worth Helping. We Agree.

For World Health Day 2026, this year's theme — Together for Health. Stand with Science — feels particularly personal to us.

Because that's exactly what we do, every day, in every session.

What the science actually says about mental health

Globally, more than a billion people live with a mental health condition. who This statistic may or may not shock you, but it should serve as a reminder that struggling is genuinely common, and that the systems meant to help people have consistently failed to keep up with the need.

Mental health is a state of mental well-being that enables people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn and work well, and contribute to their community. It is a basic human right. who

A basic human right. Not a luxury. Not something you earn by hitting rock bottom first. And not something that you splurge on after you've paid all your other expenses for the week.

The WHO is also clear that effective treatment exists — and that the gap between people who need care and people who receive it remains far too wide. Many mental health conditions can be effectively treated at relatively low cost, yet health systems remain significantly under-resourced and treatment gaps are wide all over the world. who

Why evidence-based care matters

At Roots & Branches, we don't pick treatment approaches based on what's trending or what sounds good in a caption. We use modalities that have been studied, tested, and validated — because our clients deserve care that actually works.

Those modalities aren't all at the same stage of research, and we think it's worth being honest about that. Some have decades of gold-standard evidence behind them. Others are newer, with promising early findings and strong theoretical foundations. All of them were chosen deliberately.

Here's what the research actually says:

EMDR carries the highest recommendation across most major clinical practice guidelines for PTSD — including the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the International Society for Traumatic Stress Studies, and the World Health Organization. Bilateral stimulation helps the brain reprocess traumatic memories that got stuck, so the past stops feeling like the present. If you're seeing EMDR talked about on social media, it's not because it's a trend — it's because it works, and science supports it.

EMDR, in particular, is grounded in the understanding that many of the painful patterns people carry — the hypervigilance, the intrusive memories, the sense that the past is still happening in the present — are the result of memories that haven't been fully processed. The therapy works by helping the nervous system do what it couldn't do at the time of the trauma.

Gottman Method couples therapy is built on 40+ years of observational research studying thousands of couples. A 2024 randomized controlled trial confirmed it outperforms standard couples therapy — with gains in trust, conflict management, and relational satisfaction that held at six-month follow-up.

ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy) has one of the broadest evidence bases in modern psychotherapy. A meta-analysis of 39 randomized controlled trials found ACT outperformed treatment-as-usual across anxiety, depression, addiction, and chronic pain — working by building psychological flexibility rather than fighting difficult thoughts.

IFS (Internal Family Systems) is recognized as an evidence-based practice by SAMHSA, with emerging research demonstrating measurable outcomes in pain, depressive symptoms, and self-compassion. It works by helping people understand and integrate all the parts of themselves — reducing internal conflict rather than suppressing it.

Lifespan Integration is grounded in neuroscience and attachment theory, with growing clinical research support. LI uses a person's own autobiographical timeline to help the nervous system recognize that the past is over — making it particularly effective for early developmental trauma and attachment wounds that other approaches can't always reach.

This is where the field is heading. We're paying attention.

What this looks like for perinatal clients

The postpartum and perinatal period is one of the highest-risk windows for the development of trauma responses, anxiety, depression, and stress-related conditions. Risks can emerge at any stage of life, but those occurring during sensitive developmental periods are particularly harmful. who Birth and early parenthood absolutely qualify.

And yet this is also a period when people are least likely to reach out — because they're exhausted, because they're supposed to be happy, and because the systems around them often aren't asking the right questions.

We ask the right questions. We also know that when someone does reach out during this season of life, they deserve a therapist who understands the science of what's happening in their body, their brain, and their relationships — not just reassurance that things will get better.

Standing with science means demanding better

World Health Day 2026 isn't just a moment to celebrate what research has achieved. It's a call to act on what we already know. The need for action on mental health is indisputable and urgent. who

Roots & Branches Wellness specializes in perinatal mental health, trauma therapy, and faith transitions. Our therapists are trained in EMDR, Gottman Method, ACT, IFS, and Lifespan Integration. We serve clients throughout Utah and Salt Lake County.