Meet Arzu Shams of Integral Health & Wellness in North Dallas

Today we’d like to introduce you to Arzu Shams.

Thanks for sharing your story with us Arzu. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
I landed in counseling by accident. It’s ironic because anyone who knows me today will tell you I’m very cautious and intentional about the choices I make, so to think that I basically “winged it” to end up in this field is pretty funny. I always knew in the back of my mind that I wanted to help people, but I wasn’t quite sure what that would look like or how I would do it. I’ll spare you the boring details of how I ended up in my counseling program, but I will say that I went into that first week fully prepared to drop out because I realized too late that I had meant to apply to a different program. By the end of the first week, my embarrassment and trepidation had quickly turned into relief and excitement, as I realized for the first time in my life that I was right where I needed to be. Cheesy, I know, but entirely true.

After completing my Master’s of Science from UNT, I applied for licensure and landed my first gig in the field, working as a mobile crisis assessor for a local community mental health authority, where I spent the next couple years cultivating skills in risk assessment and crisis intervention. From there, I dabbled in various settings trying to get a sense of what each one had to offer. I spent some time in schools providing therapy to at-risk youth, worked as an intake assessor in the hospital setting, and ran an outpatient community mental health clinic. All of these experiences combined allowed me to not only develop my clinical identity but also to expand my knowledge of the unmet needs in our local communities.

Last year, I finally reached a point where I no longer wanted to be limited in my therapeutic practice and wanted the opportunity to dictate how I provide care to my clients. My drive to provide access to quality mental health services, combined with a lot of nudging from peers and loved ones, led to the creation of Integral Health & Wellness (IHW). We opened for business in September 2019, and have been growing steadily ever since. I feel passionate about providing holistic care and have an amazing team of clinicians who work alongside me in implementing IHW’s vision. We definitely have a long way to go, but I am so excited to see how we continue to grow and expand our services to help people become healthier, happier versions of themselves.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
One of the first thing’s my dad said to me when I told him about my plan to start a business was “Expect for things to go wrong because it will happen.” I heard him on this but wasn’t entirely convinced this would be my experience. Ha, ha. The reality is that because I planned well and knew my industry well, I was able to recover quickly from the mishaps and barriers that came my way. However, it did not prevent the many sleepless nights and frantic moments where I wanted to quit before I had even opened. For me, the hardest part is that I went into business alone. Each step of the way, I was learning as I was going and felt immensely overwhelmed as I tried to balance everything from finding a space to budgeting, decorating, hiring, credentialing, etc. to ensure that it was all completed in time for our opening. During this process, there were a number of challenges and delays throughout that forced me to stop and re-strategize along the way. Another challenge for me was ensuring financial resources were used wisely since I also decided to support myself fiscally in this endeavor. With all of that in mind, I was also working three jobs, so you know, I was kind of tired.

Integral Health & Wellness – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At IHW, we are all about treating the WHOLE person. This means we don’t just teach you some breathing for your anxiety and send you home. We help you examine your thoughts, emotions, coping, relationship dynamics, past experiences, work life, hobbies, physical health, nutrition, and then some. As a society, we often forget there is a direct link between our mental and physical health. Our lack of mindfulness and intentionality in our daily decisions impacts our quality of life. Our clinicians work hard to educate our clients in these areas, and when necessary, connect them with resources that will facilitate complete health and wellness. The vision for the near future is to provide nutrition services, medication management, and a fitness component to our list of services offered.

Currently, we have two trauma specialists, including myself. Some of our favorite areas to treat include depression, anxiety, life transitions, relationship issues, perfectionism, and OCD. I have several specialists who do couples and family work, as well. I want to highlight that we are passionate about serving mental health professionals and first responders. We also offer outdoor sessions, which is a great adjunct feature. I’d recommend visiting our website for a more comprehensive list of what we treat.