MIND BODY CONNECTION · CALIFORNIA
A whole-person approach to emotional well-being
Thoughts and feelings do not exist separately from the body. Sleep, nutrition, digestion, physical health, medication response, relationships, and stress can all influence how a person feels and functions.
IS THIS FOR YOU?
You may have experienced this connection yourself
Marina helps clients explore these connections without reducing their experiences to symptoms, test results, or a single biological explanation. Therapy remains grounded in each client’s lived experience, emotional history, relationships, environment, and personal goals.
Butterflies before an important conversation
An upset stomach during anxiety
Tightness in your chest when frightened
Exhaustion after prolonged stress
WHAT TO EXPECT IN THIS JOURNEY
How the Body Can Affect Emotional Well-Being
Emotional distress can appear throughout the body. Chronic stress may affect sleep, digestion, appetite, energy, concentration, muscle tension, and the ability to regulate emotions. In turn, physical discomfort, nutritional concerns, disrupted sleep, and medication side effects can make emotional challenges more difficult to manage.
- Notice how stress, digestion, energy, sleep, and mood may interact
- Identify patterns between physical symptoms and emotional experiences
- Explore supportive habits with Marina and appropriate healthcare providers
- Integrate body awareness into your broader therapeutic journey
- Explore how the gut microbiome may communicate with the brain and influence emotional well-being
- Learn about probiotics and prebiotics being studied in connection with stress, mood, and cognitive health
- Notice possible relationships among digestion, sleep, energy, stress, and emotional regulation
- Discuss probiotics or supplements with a qualified healthcare professional before making changes
- Explore how nutrition may affect mood, energy, concentration, sleep, and stress resilience
- Identify eating patterns that may be connected to changes in physical and emotional well-being
- Develop greater awareness of how nourishment fits into your broader self-care and therapeutic goals
- Collaborate with Marina and qualified medical or nutritional professionals when additional support is appropriate
- Complete optional at-home testing for personalized wellness insights
- Review findings related to nutrition, digestion, and gut health
- Explore how relevant patterns may connect with mood, energy, and stress
- Discuss appropriate next steps with Marina and qualified health professionals
- Complete optional genetic testing with guidance from an appropriate provider
- Learn how your genetics may influence responses to certain medications
- Process previous side effects, challenges, or treatment frustrations with Marina
- Prepare informed questions for your psychiatrist or prescribing professional
BODY MIND CONNECTIONS
Integrating Mind, Body, and Relationships
Recognizing these patterns can help clients develop a more compassionate understanding of what they are experiencing. The goal is not to assume that every emotional concern has a physical cause. It is to consider the complete person rather than treating the mind and body as separate systems.
GUT-BRAIN AXIS
The Brain-Gut Connection
The brain and digestive system communicate through multiple biological pathways, collectively known as the gut–brain axis. Researchers are examining how this two-way communication may relate to the body’s stress response, digestion, mood, sleep, energy, cognitive functioning, and emotional regulation.
I help clients explore how the brain–gut connection may relate to their individual experiences by identifying patterns among digestion, eating habits, physical symptoms, stress, sleep, mood, and energy. In therapy, I help clients track these patterns, understand how physical and emotional factors may influence one another, and prepare informed questions for a physician, registered dietitian, or other qualified professional. This allows the brain–gut connection to be considered as one part of individualized, whole-person care.
I consider these connections within a broader picture that includes emotional health, relationships, nutrition, physical health, lifestyle, and daily habits. I do not treat gut health interventions, probiotics, supplements, or dietary changes as cures or replacements for therapy, medical care, or established mental health treatment. Digestive symptoms and decisions involving nutrition or supplements should be discussed with a qualified medical or nutritional professional.
Gut • Brain • Emotional & Mental Health
PROBIOTICS & PREBIOTICS
Psychobiotics
Psychobiotics is an emerging field examining how certain probiotics and prebiotics may affect mental well-being through their influence on the gut microbiome. Rather than describing the general communication between the brain and digestive system, psychobiotics focuses on specific microbiome-supporting interventions being researched for their potential relationship with stress, mood, sleep, and cognitive functioning.
I help clients evaluate psychobiotics thoughtfully rather than treating them as a universal wellness recommendation. In therapy, I explore what the client hopes to address, distinguish research-based information from exaggerated health claims, and consider how any changes could be observed alongside—not confused with—the effects of therapy, medication, sleep, or other treatments. I also help clients formulate questions and communicate their goals clearly to a physician, registered dietitian, or other qualified healthcare professional.
I do not prescribe probiotics or prebiotics or recommend psychobiotics as a cure or replacement for psychotherapy, medication, or medical care. Research in this field is still developing, and a product or strain that benefits one person may not benefit another. Any decision to use probiotics, prebiotics, or supplements should be made with an appropriately qualified medical or nutritional professional.
Probiotics • Prebiotics • Emotional & Mental Health
NUTRIENTS-BASED
Psychonutrition
Psychonutrition examines how food, nutrients, and eating patterns may influence mental and emotional well-being. It considers how nourishment can affect energy, concentration, sleep, mood stability, and the body’s ability to respond to stress. Rather than focusing specifically on the gut microbiome, psychonutrition looks more broadly at the relationship between nutrition, brain function, and psychological health.
I help clients explore nutrition without judgment, rigid rules, or labeling foods as “good” or “bad.” In therapy, we may examine how stress, emotions, routines, appetite changes, and beliefs about food influence eating patterns—and how those patterns may affect mood and daily functioning. I also help clients recognize barriers to consistent nourishment, set realistic wellness goals, and prepare informed questions for a physician, registered dietitian, or other qualified healthcare professional.
I do not prescribe diets, supplements, or nutritional treatment, and I do not present dietary changes as cures or replacements for psychotherapy, medication, or medical care. Nutritional needs vary, and mental health symptoms can have many contributing factors. Significant dietary changes, supplements, eating concerns, or suspected nutritional deficiencies should be discussed with an appropriately qualified medical or nutritional professional.
Eating Patterns • Body • Emotional & Mental Health
MICROBIOME
The Viome
Marina may recommend Viome to clients who want to learn more about how nutrition, digestion, and gut health may relate to their energy, mood, and overall well-being.
Rather than treating the results as a stand-alone solution, Marina helps clients consider the information in the context of their everyday experiences. Sessions may explore connections among eating patterns, sleep, stress, physical symptoms, energy, and emotional regulation.
Viome may be worth considering for clients who:
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- Want a more personalized approach to nutrition and wellness
- Notice connections among digestion, energy, stress, and mood
- Are curious about their body’s individual nutritional needs
- Want additional information to discuss with a physician, registered dietitian, or another qualified healthcare professional
Marina does not prescribe nutritional treatment or present Viome’s recommendations as a cure for mental health concerns. Her role is to help clients reflect on the information, identify meaningful patterns, and determine which questions may be helpful to bring to an appropriate healthcare provider.
Microbiome • Lifestyle • Biology
GENETICS-BASED
The Genomind
Marina may recommend Genomind to clients who have had difficulty finding an effective mental health medication, experienced unwanted side effects, or want more information to support conversations with their prescribing provider.
Genomind provides genetic information that a qualified medical professional may consider alongside a client’s symptoms, medical history, previous medication experiences, and other clinical factors.
Genomind may be worth considering for clients who:
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- Have tried several medications without finding an effective fit
- Have experienced unexpected or difficult side effects
- Feel discouraged by the trial-and-error process of medication management
- Want to prepare for a more informed conversation with a psychiatrist or prescribing professional
In therapy, Marina can help clients process frustration or discouragement related to medication, clarify their concerns, develop questions for their healthcare provider, and advocate for themselves more confidently.
Marina does not prescribe medication or recommend medication changes. All medication decisions remain between the client and their qualified prescribing professional. Genetic testing may offer additional information, but it cannot determine treatment on its own.
Genetics • Testing • Medications
Healing starts with one conversation.
Schedule a session
MEET YOUR THERAPIST
Couples Therapist in California
Marina Edelman didn’t always plan on becoming a therapist — and that’s exactly what makes her one.
Before she ever sat across from a client in a therapy room, Marina was sitting across from executives in a boardroom. She began her career as a financial analyst for a Fortune 500 company, working in the kind of high-pressure, high-stakes environment where performance is everything and vulnerability is rarely an option. That world gave her something most clinicians simply don’t have: a firsthand understanding of what it feels like to carry professional stress, navigate complex power dynamics, and still be expected to show up fully every single day.
But Marina wanted to do more than analyze numbers. She wanted to help people.
Driven by a desire to create real, meaningful change in people’s lives, she made the pivotal decision to transition into psychology — earning her Master of Arts in Psychology from Phillips Graduate Institute in Los Angeles. In 2006, she opened her private practice in Westlake Village, California, and she has never looked back.
Nearly two decades later, Marina has built TrueMe® Counseling into a practice defined by the same qualities that have shaped her entire career: rigor, empathy, and a refusal to settle for surface-level solutions.
Marina specializes in couples therapy, affair recovery, and relationship repair, drawing on a carefully integrated set of evidence-based approaches:
- Gottman Method
- Emotionally Focused Therapy (EFT)
- Attachment-Based Therapy
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- AEDP
Her counseling is best suited for couples and individuals seeking structured, research-backed support for relationship repair, affair recovery, anxiety, communication challenges, and premarital or marriage counseling — in person or via telehealth across California.
FROM CLIENTS
Real People, Real Change.
Out of deep respect for the confidentiality that is foundational to the therapeutic relationship, I have carefully protected the identity and personal information of every person represented on this page.
★★★★★
It’s been about a year since I first visited you and sought help for my depression and anxiety.
Our sessions really helped me work through a lot of issues that were causing me such pain. I’m happy to report that a year later things are going pretty well…
Through the talk therapy I learned some useful coping mechanisms that I continue to use today. These really help to minimize the anxiety and allow me to move past it. I believe the depression to be gone.
★★★★★
Marina Edelman truly helped save my marriage in a surprisingly short amount of time.
She has an exceptional ability to get straight to the crux of the matter while making both people feel heard and understood. Her insight is sharp, direct, and incredibly effective. With her guidance, my husband and I are learning so much and growing together in ways that would not have been possible otherwise. I’m deeply grateful for her help and highly recommend her.
★★★★★
I cannot recommend Marina Edelman highly enough.
As the best marriage therapist I have ever worked with, she stands out due to her extensive training and experience, which far surpasses that of a typical therapist. Marina's approach is refreshingly honest and straight to the point, which has been incredibly effective in our sessions. What truly sets Marina apart is her genuine care and dedication to her work. The more you work with her, the more evident it becomes how seriously she takes her role...
FAQ
About Mind and Body Connection
Here are some of the most frequent questions we receive about this page.
How does Marina incorporate the body–mind connection into therapy?
I help clients explore how stress, emotions, relationships, sleep, digestion, nutrition, physical symptoms, and daily habits may influence one another. These connections are considered alongside each client’s history, concerns, and therapeutic goals to support individualized, whole-person care.
What is the difference between the brain–gut connection, psychobiotics, and psychonutrition?
The brain–gut connection describes the two-way communication between the brain and digestive system. Psychobiotics focuses on probiotics and prebiotics being studied for their potential effects on mental well-being. Psychonutrition examines the broader relationship among nutrition, brain function, mood, and psychological health.
How may Viome be incorporated into therapy?
Viome may offer information about nutrition, digestion, and the gut microbiome. I can help clients reflect on how the findings may relate to their stress, energy, sleep, eating patterns, and emotional well-being. Medical or nutritional recommendations should be reviewed with a qualified healthcare professional.
How may Genomind support mental health treatment?
Genomind provides genetic information that may help inform conversations about psychiatric medications. I can help clients organize their treatment history, process previous medication experiences, and prepare questions for their prescribing professional since I do not prescribe medication or make medication changes.
Are testing, supplements, or dietary changes required?
Take the first step toward healing and connection
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