Man's Best Medicine

medicine

Man’s best

Holistic practices aim to heal whole person

By Brian Wudkwych | Photos by Molly Mathis

Students know Susan Willson Lally as a clinical instructor at the East Carolina University College of Nursing. Patients, however, often times know her simply as Murphy and Kaitlyn’s mom.

This is because when the 37-year-old nurse is not busy teaching students the theory, methods and techniques behind holistic psychiatric nursing, she is usually practicing it, most often alongside her trusted, four-legged pals, who are licensed therapy dogs.

Whether it is students readying for a final exam — Lally and Murphy can be seen roaming campus around this time helping students relax before a big test — or patients dealing with a chronic and mental illness, the benefits of animal therapy can crossover to many different scenarios. In fact, studies have shown that therapy animals can help decrease heart rate and blood pressure, all factors in a person’s anxiety level.

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Susan Lally gives belly rubs to her therapy dog Kaitlyn

“

All animals have this complete

“

acceptance and non-judgement...

It’s unconditional love.

Murphy, a therapy dog, gets some love from nursing students at ECU during exam week

When patients see the dogs walk towards them, tails wagging, Lally has seen depressed people smile and non-emotional people cry. Most of all, though, she has seen joy and that has only fed her passion.

“I remember a patient who really just did not want to get out of bed but I remember when we brought Murphy, it was the first time I had seen her smile,” Lally said. “Then she came every week that we were there and it was the highlight of her week. It’s immediate and easy to see.”

That idea of holistic practice — the need to evoke certain emotions or sense — is what makes therapy dogs a natural fit into the regiment. But what also makes them so valuable is the non-human aspect of any type of therapy animal, really. When a patient has seen white coat after white coat, sometimes it takes something different.

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and that’s what is so beautiful about it.”

The experience for the patient is one of the most important aspects of being a holistic nurse, Lally said. Interconnectivity between emotional, mental and physical responses drives the modalities in the practices. There is more to treating an illness than just prescribing drugs, and at a time when opioid abuse is at an alltime high, finding individuality in treatment is important.

To accomplish this, Lally and other holistic nurses aim to bring together significant aspects of a patient’s life. One such example is understanding a person’s religion and cultural norms and how that might affect reaction not just to the treatment but to the experience itself. It all, ultimately, is mind, body and spirit.

“You can’t treat an illness unless you understand culturally does this person believe in mental illness,” she said. “If they don’t then you’re going to have treat that patient much differently to help them get healthy than if they did believe that they had a mental illness. I don’t think you can treat people unless you do it holistically.”

Holistic practices really have no end point. Honing in on the senses is one of the most com-

They don’t see that the person can’t walk or that they’re emotionally struggling. They are just there to offer love and that’s what is so beautiful about it.

“All animals have this complete acceptance and non-judgement,” she said. “It’s once they have exhausted other options,

types of practices early on, Lally said, but conditional love. They don’t see the person’s illness. They don’t see that

But while buzzwords in ob-

the buy-in tends to be much easier. the person can’t walk or that scure treatments like emotional they’re emotionally struggling. freed techniques involve phrases like aco-points, energy They are just there to offer love meridians,tapping and more can understandably create a sense of doubt, there is just something about the dogs that gets an immediate positive reaction. And while patients may not even realize it, animals are just another form of treatment.

“Humans have a hard time because you judge people, even if you try not to,” Lally said. “But dogs don’t. They don’t even have the capacity to. It helps them relax and forget about what they’re going through for a minute.”

As for Murphy, his mom said retirement is on the horizon. At 13-years-old, Lally said he has put in his dues and now it will be up to Kaitlyn to carry the torch alone until another dog is trained and ready to step in. But still, Murphy’s age did not stop him from touring Brody School of Medicine’s campus in late April to cheer up some students as final exams descended upon them.

It w a s , a s it a lw ay s s e e m s t o b e , a j o y f u l ex per ience for ever yone involved.

“It’s fun to be Murphy’s mom,” Lally said with a laugh. “People used to know me as Susan or the nurse that brought students along. It’s really just a testament.”

Contact Brian Wudkwych at bwudkwych@reflec-

mon goals of method, be it through meditation, heat, essential oils, massage therapytor.com or 252-329-9567 and follow

@brianwudkwych on Twitter.

or even music. It is not uncommon for a patient to be skeptical about these

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HOLISIC NURSING TREATMENTS have healing the whole person as the goal—treating the person first and pain second. Following are some evidence based holistic treatments outlined by the American Holistic Nurses Association.

ESSENTIAL OILS:

Lavender essential oils are best known for their relaxing aura, but can also have painreducing effects as well. The oils can be applied topically or applied to palms and cup them around face and breathe in to embrace the relaxing powers of the oil.

MUSIC:

Music stimulates many things in the mind, like relaxation, which can in turn reduce types of pain. It also plays a big role in distraction, which can also reduce pain in some ways. Music and music therapy, much like pet therapy, can alleviate stress.

NUTRITION:

What goes into people’s bodies directly impacts physical and both mental health. It’s important to keep balanced diets, as well as keeping a steady intake of important vitamins!

LAUGHTER:

Of course, laughter sometimes is really just the best medicine there is!

MEDITATION AND

RELAXATION:

Meditation is a process where an individual focuses their mind on a specific thought, object or activity in order to achieve a mentally clear state of mind. Often, when patients have experienced physical or mental trauma, meditation and relaxation is an effective treatment for healing the mind. Another form of relaxation is Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR). The American Holistic Nurses Association defines this as “focusing awareness on the body and alternately tightening and relaxing the muslces groups without holding the breath.”

HEAT/COLD:

Heat is a safe treatment for a variety of conditions and illnesses such as fibromyalgia, muscle soreness and overexertion of muscles, chronic pain, cramping and muscle spasms. Heat dilates the blood vessels which then brings more circulation. It can be applied through a heating pad and/or heat cream.

DO NOT USE HEAT OR COLD:

•With diabetes or infection, •On areas with poor sensation or circulation •Around the front side of the neck

*As always, be cautious and aware when using heat/cold remedies.

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