BPC Monthly Newsletter
Finding Your Way... Back to Nature

Tools for Optimizing Emotional & Mental Wellness
April 2006 Issue

In this issue:
Protecting Against Stress
Free Help
Healing Arts

Welcome...
One of the best things about living through a Pennsylvania winter is our Pennsylvania spring. All of a sudden we are taking walks again, preparing our gardens and enjoying our extra hours of sunlight. Spring reminds us how healing nature is and how important it is to incorporate nature into our homes and offices.

Dorothy Ashma & the staff of Bloomsburg Psychological Center, LLC

Protecting Against Stress

Two Cornell University environmental psychologists have published a study that shows that exposure to nature in or around the home appears to be a significant factor in protecting the psychological well-being of children in rural areas. "Even in a rural setting with a relative abundance of green landscape, more appears to be better when it comes to bolstering children's resilience against stress or adversity."

Another study that found that being close to nature also helps boost a child's attention span. "When children's cognitive functioning was compared before and after they moved to housing that had more green spaces around, profound differences emerged in their attention capacities."

A ten-year study of patients recovering from gallbladder surgery, conducted by Dr. Roger Ulrich, an environmental psychologist at Texas A & M's College of Architecture, compared 23 patients whose windows looked out on trees and sky, with 23 patients whose windows faced brick walls. Those with views of nature had shorter stays, took fewer painkillers, and complained less to nurses.

Bring Nature Inside
  • Fill decorative bowls with interesting stones, shells or pebbles.
  • Use live plants to filter the air and add vitality to the room.
  • Place bird feeders and bird baths close to a window that is easy to sit by.
  • Tabletop fountains add sound, beauty and humidity to your home.
  • Bowls of fruit or vegetables bring life and utility to your decorations.
  • Open your windows whenever possible.
  • Hang a painting or photograph of a natural scene or wildlife on the wall.
Free Help

Bloomsburg Psychological Center,LLC offers free Anxiety and Depression Screenings to anyone in the community. Just call BPC at 570-387-1832 to schedule a time slot. After you fill out the screening, one of our therapists will meet with you for about 15 minutes and go over the results.

Children of Divorce, a group for children ages 6-11 years, will meet on Monday nights from 5-6:30 PM. Ronda Barto, LSW, will guide children through activities, discussions, and writing in a workbook that each child will take with them at the end of the six weeks. Call 570-387- 1832 for details.

Need extra support?
Our area is well supplied with Free Support Groups and Services that can get you connected with other people in similar situations. Our website contains a list of all of the free groups we have heard of. If you know of any that we have missed, please call us at 570-387-1832 and give us the information. Although we confirm the information with each group once a year, we suggest checking with the contact number to make sure the time or location of the meeting has not changed

Healing Arts

The Healing Arts pages on our website allow you to share poems and artwork or be inspired by what others have created.

If you would like to contribute to our poetry or art gallery, please contact us. You can post anonymously, with a pen name, or with your own name.

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