News and Updates at River Valley BHWC

OPENING A NEW LOCATION

River Valley in Waconia, MN!

We are now accepting appointments at our new Waconia location (accepting most insurances). We focus on the balance of optimizing positive mental health as well as preventing and treating mental health problems. We treat across the lifespan with a primary emphasis on children, teens, and young adults. Please share this this with your friends &
colleagues.

New Team Members at RVBHWC

Jessica Wettlin - PMHNP - Starting July 10 - TELEHEALTH

We are so excited to have Jessica join our nursing department! She will be taking appointments soon for psychiatric services and medication management. Jessica has spent over 18 years serving both adolescent and adult clients, and is passionate about helping them navigate their mental health challenges...FIND OUT MORE.

Broaden My Knowledge

Book of the Month: "The Light We Carry" by Michelle Obama

There may be no tidy solutions or pithy answers to life’s big challenges, but Michelle Obama believes that we can all locate and lean on a set of tools to help us better navigate change and remain steady within flux. In The Light We Carry, she opens a frank and honest dialogue with listeners, considering the questions many of us wrestle with: How do we build enduring and honest relationships? How can we discover strength and community inside our differences? What tools do we use to address feelings of self-doubt or helplessness? What do we do when it all starts to feel like too much?

Video of the Month: "Shadow Voices: Finding Hope In Mental Illness"

While this documentary offers a deeper look at what it means to live with a mental illness, it also maintains a hopeful tone, focusing on stories where individuals use their experiences to shift how we view mental health and recovery. It’s incredibly moving and educational—thanks to the helpful input of experts in the field.

Anyone can feel anxious at any given time but we all can experience anxiety in different ways. Some calming exercises may work better for one person but not another. However, when we engage all of our senses, it can be a powerful tool to help us calm the anxiety that we may be feeling. We can do this by using the 5-4-3-2-1 method. With this method, you change your focus, one by one, to each of your 5 senses. Start by focusing on:

• 5 Things You See
  Look at your surroundings and find 5 different points to focus on such as trees, plants, birds, pictures on the wall, desktop paperweights, animals at play, cars driving by, people walking, etc.
• 4 Things You Feel
  Feel the wind or a fan at your face. Does it make your hair move? Feel your hands in your pockets. What do you have in your pockets? Press on your leg or another body part for 30 seconds and then stop. Touch the furniture around you. If possible, run your hands under some water; cold and then hot.
• 3 Things You Hear
  Listen to your surroundings. Can you hear tree leaves blowing, a dog barking, computer typing, traffic sounds, or people talking? If possible, try putting on some music.
• 2 Things You Smell
  Can you smell flowers, trees, or fresh cut grass around you? Find a bathroom and smell a scented soap. If you keep one with you, take a whiff of an essential oil. Or, you can light a scented candle.
• 1 Thing You Taste
  Try to keep some mints or gum in your pocket so you can pop one in your mouth during moments like this. See if you can find a candy bowl in a lobby or take a sip of your coffee or water. If you're at home, you could grab a small bite of a snack. Sometimes even the thought of a minty piece of gum in your mouth may be enough.

When you pull your focus away from what is causing your anxiety, it can go away. So the goal here is to focus on what is around you rather than your anxiety. Take your time and make sure to do all the steps in the 5-4-3-2-1 method. And if you so choose, keep a few of these items ready to go by the door or in your purse so that you will have them with you if you need them.

Be sure to utilize all the techniques and recipes from our previous newsletters in the "Cue to Be Well" archive: