Factoring in the Gut-Brain Connection in Psychotherapy: Why It Changes Everything

For years treating my patients in my therapy practice led to frustration and concern that some of my patients were not getting any better. They were doing the work, applying the techniques, diving into their traumas, and sharing their story. For some this really helped, for others, the results were marginal. This often led them to seeking out pharmacological interventions; hoping pill had the answer.

For decades, psychotherapy has centered around thoughts, emotions, behaviors, and interpersonal patterns — as it should. But in recent years, a surge of compelling research has added an essential new layer to the conversation: the profound connection between gut health and mental health. We now understand that the body — and particularly the gut — plays a powerful role in shaping our emotions, cognitive function, and even our response to therapy. This has created a new branch of Psychology called Functional or Holistic Psychology. This has served as the missing key in my practice and has led to such dramatic results in my patients recovery that I have to get the word out.

Incorporating the gut-brain connection into psychotherapy isn’t fringe science anymore. It’s a shift toward a more integrated, effective, and personalized mental healthcare approach — and it can be a game-changer, especially for conditions like ADHD, PTSD, depression, and anxiety.

The Gut-Brain Axis: A Two-Way Highway

You’ve probably hear the expression (probably coming from your mother growing up), “You are what you eat.” Well, turns out some of that parental wisdom is actually true. Your gut and brain are in constant communication via the vagus nerve, which is sometimes referred to as the “wandering” nerve because it connect from your brain to various organs throughtout yoru body. Also, higlhy contributes to the transition to and from your parasympathetic nevous system, and your sympathetic nervous system, which often referred to as “fight or flight,” Additionally the vegas nerve provides immune signaling, and signaling for the production of neurotransmitters. In fact, over 90% of serotonin, the “feel good” neurotransmitter, is made in the gut — not the brain (Clapp et al., 2017). The gut involveds the “enteric nervous system” (ENS), sometimes called the “second brain,” can influence mood, memory, and stress reactivity.

When the gut is inflamed, leaky, or imbalanced (a condition known as gut dysbiosis), it can send distorted signals to the brain. The result? Mood instability, brain fog, poor impulse control, and a heightened stress response. This is because under states of stress the gut shuts down, primarly to conserve resources needed to fight or flee. Which makes sense right? I mean, we don’t need to digest food when were about to be food. But chronic stress can cause gut malfunction for long periods of time, starting a cascade of physical and mental issues over time (Mayer et al., 2015).

This is why it is essential to understand the gut brain connection, how food impacts gut health, and having a good knowledge base of how each of our individual genetic make up is expressed.

The Science Behind the Symptoms

ADHD:

• ADHD is often described in terms of impulsivity, distractibility, and executive dysfunction. But beneath those symptoms lies a complex neurochemical landscape — one that is deeply intertwined with gut health.

• Gut inflammation and microbial imbalance (dysbiosis) can interfere with the production and regulation of dopamine, a neurotransmitter essential for attention, motivation, and reward processing (Aarts et al., 2017).

• Children and adults with ADHD frequently show increased gut permeability (“leaky gut”), which allows toxins and undigested food particles to enter the bloodstream. This triggers low-grade inflammation that can impair brain function — especially in the prefrontal cortex, the very region already underactive in ADHD (Wang et al., 2020).

• Studies show that diets high in sugar, food dyes, gluten, and processed carbohydrates can exacerbate hyperactivity and cognitive issues, while diets that support gut integrity — rich in omega-3s, fiber, and fermented foods — may improve symptoms (Pelsser et al., 2011).

• Nutrient absorption is also compromised, meaning key co-factors needed for dopamine synthesis (like iron, zinc, magnesium, and B-vitamins) may not be utilized efficiently — creating a bottleneck in the brain’s reward and focus systems (Arnold et al., 2011).

Incorporating gut-health awareness into ADHD treatment can help regulate mood swings, improve cognitive clarity, and enhance the effectiveness of behavioral interventions or medications.

Depression & Anxiety:

• Emerging research confirms what many clinicians have long suspected: depression and anxiety are not just disorders of the mind, but also of the body. One of the biggest physiological contributors? Gut dysfunction and inflammation.

• The gut contains over 500 million neurons and plays a crucial role in regulating serotonin and GABA — neurotransmitters that stabilize mood and reduce anxiety. If the gut is inflamed or imbalanced, these systems break down (Carbotti et al., 2015).

• Dysbiosis (an overgrowth of harmful bacteria) not only affects neurotransmitter production but also weakens the gut lining, leading to intestinal permeability. This leakage activates the immune system, increasing the release of cytokines — pro-inflammatory signaling molecules that are highly correlated with major depressive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder (Kelly et al., 2015).

• The HPA axis (hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis) is your body’s stress thermostat. Gut imbalance throws it off. The result? You may feel anxious, wired, and restless — or exhausted, numb, and disengaged — even when your life circumstances don’t explain it (Mayer et al., 2015).

• Many people with anxiety and depression are chronically inflamed without realizing it. They may be eating foods they’re sensitive to, harboring imbalanced microbiota, or deficient in nutrients like B6, magnesium, or omega-3s — key building blocks for calm and emotional regulation (Slyepchenko et al., 2014).

Treating these issues requires more than affirmations or thought-challenging — it involves a rebalancing of the gut-brain interface.

PTSD:

• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is more than flashbacks and hypervigilance — it’s a whole-body imprint of trauma, often manifesting as physical distress and gastrointestinal dysfunction.

• Many people with PTSD report chronic IBS-like symptoms, such as bloating, abdominal pain, constipation, or diarrhea. These aren’t “just stress-related” — they’re the physiological echo of a nervous system locked in survival mode (Hemmings et al., 2017).

• Trauma can disrupt the gut lining, suppress digestive enzymes, and shift the microbiome in a way that favors harmful bacteria. This not only leads to discomfort but also reduces the absorption of calming and restorative nutrients (Bajaj et al., 2019).

• PTSD activates the sympathetic nervous system — our “fight or flight” response — which suppresses digestion and increases cortisol, a stress hormone that can further degrade gut lining and worsen inflammation (Mayer et al., 2015).

• Individuals with PTSD also often exhibit increased food sensitivities, either due to a compromised immune response or as a result of inflammation-induced histamine intolerance. This can create a vicious cycle: stress increases gut issues, and gut issues perpetuate emotional dysregulation.

Addressing gut health in trauma recovery can help regulate the nervous system, restore emotional balance, and reduce chronic physiological hyperarousal (Hemmings et al., 2017).

So with this in mind, it’s important to know what tools are available for testing and treatment for these gut-related mental disorders.

Personalized Tools: Genetics & Food Sensitivity Testing

At Your Kind of Happy, we integrate MaxGen genetic testing and Everlywell food sensitivity panels to uncover hidden biological contributors to mental health symptoms. It’s important to not Your Kind of Happy LLC. is not affiliated or is advertising these companies, just the names for reference purposes.

Genetic Testing: Your Body’s Operating Manual

Think of your genes like the instruction manual for how your body and brain work. When we run genetic testing, we’re not looking for anything scary — we’re looking for tiny variations, kind of like typos in that manual, that might explain why your brain reacts the way it does.

This testing shows us:

• How your brain makes and uses key brain chemicals like dopamine and serotonin (influencing focus, mood, motivation).

• How your body detoxes and recycles important nutrients (so we can see if you’re absorbing and using vitamins properly).

• How well you handle stress and inflammation, which affect energy, emotions, and even your immune system.

Some people are born with a manual that says, “You need extra B vitamins to feel calm,” or “Your body has a harder time breaking down certain stress hormones.” This can explain why certain medications don’t work, why you’re more sensitive to certain foods or supplements, or why stress hits you harder than others.

By understanding your unique wiring, we can create a personalized plan with the right nutrients, lifestyle tweaks, and support tools — so your body and brain can function at their best.

Food Sensitivity Testing:

Using IgG reactivity markers (which is code for inflamation), this test pinpoints delayed immune reactions to foods that could be inflaming the gut and aggravating symptoms. Unlike food allergies, which cause immediate responses, food sensitivities can cause low-level symptoms like:

• Mood swings

• Brain fog

• Digestive discomfort

• Fatigue

• Joint pain

Identifying and eliminating these triggers often leads to significant improvement in mental clarity, focus, emotional regulation, and even sleep quality.

Why This Matters for Therapy Outcomes

Traditional therapy works best when the mind is flexible, alert, and emotionally regulated. But when the body is inflamed, nutrient-deficient, or overstimulated by the wrong foods, the brain’s capacity to engage in therapy is compromised.

By addressing these physiological imbalances, we’re not replacing psychotherapy — we’re supercharging it.

Imagine this:

• A client struggling with ADHD can finally focus long enough to internalize coping strategies.

• Someone with depression experiences emotional lift just from stabilizing blood sugar and improving gut health.

• A trauma survivor reduces panic attacks after identifying hidden food intolerances.

This is the power of integrative mental healthcare. An the emergence of functional health into the field of Psychology is only going to gain more steam in the future as more and more people learn the powerful connection between their gut and brain.

Whole-Person Healing in Practice

At Your Kind of Happy, typical sessions don’t just start and end with talk. We assess lifestyle factors — sleep quality, social rhythms, movement patterns, and diet. We investigate root causes of emotional and cognitive symptoms, and we build a personalized plan for healing that integrates:

• Evidence-based therapy (CBT, DBT, EMDR)

• Psychological and personality assessments

• Genetic and nutritional insights

• Gut-brain support protocols

The key takeaway here is your body is not separate from your mind!

Mental health is complex — and the most effective solutions consider the whole person. By integrating the gut-brain connection into psychotherapy, we expand what’s possible. For many clients, this is the missing piece — the bridge between “trying everything” and finally feeling better.

Whether you’re battling chronic anxiety, stuck in patterns of depression, or just want to function at your best, starting with your body might be the breakthrough your mind has been waiting for.

References:

Aarts, E., Ederveen, T. H. A., Naaijen, J., Zwiers, M. P., Boekhorst, J., Timmerman, H. M., … & Buitelaar, J. K. (2017). Gut microbiome in ADHD and its relation to neural reward anticipation. PLOS ONE, 12(9), e0183509. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0183509

Arnold, L. E., DiSilvestro, R. A., Bozzolo, H., Bozzolo, D. R., Crowl, L., Fernandez, S., … & Williams, C. (2011). Zinc for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: placebo-controlled double-blind pilot trial alone and combined with amphetamine. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology, 21(1), 1–8. https://doi.org/10.1089/cap.2010.0040

Bajaj, J. S., Hays, S., Fagan, A., White, M. B., Sikaroodi, M., Gillevet, P. M., & Fuchs, M. (2019). The gut microbiome in military veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder. Journal of Clinical Gastroenterology, 53(9), e402-e409. https://doi.org/10.1097/MCG.0000000000001247

Carabotti, M., Scirocco, A., Maselli, M. A., & Severi, C. (2015). The gut-brain axis: interactions between enteric microbiota, central and enteric nervous systems. Annals of Gastroenterology, 28(2), 203–209.

Clapp, M., Aurora, N., Herrera, L., Bhatia, M., Wilen, E., & Wakefield, S. (2017). Gut microbiota’s effect on mental health: The gut-brain axis. Clinics and Practice, 7(4), 987. https://doi.org/10.4081/cp.2017.987

Hemmings, S. M. J., Malan-Müller, S., van den Heuvel, L. L., Demmitt, B. A., Stanislawski, M. A., Smith, D. G., … & Seedat, S. (2017). The microbiome in posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma-exposed controls: an exploratory study. Psychosomatic Medicine, 79(8), 936–946. https://doi.org/10.1097/PSY.0000000000000512

Kelly, J. R., Borre, Y., O’ Brien, C., Patterson, E., El Aidy, S., Deane, J., … & Cryan, J. F. (2015). Transferring the blues: depression-associated gut microbiota induces neurobehavioural changes in the rat. Journal of Psychiatric Research, 82, 109–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2016.07.019

Mayer, E. A., Knight, R., Mazmanian, S. K., Cryan, J. F., & Tillisch, K. (2015). Gut microbes and the brain: paradigm shift in neuroscience. *The Journal of Neuroscience, 34