There are more than 100 prescription drugs marketed for treating psychiatric disorders.  Then there is the Teaneck Creek Conservancy.

The healing power of nature is recognized by Holy Name Hospital’s Center for Healthy Living, which is partnering with TCC in a series of monthly programs aimed at reducing mental ailments such as depression and anxiety.

In April, the Center presented a program on living a complaint free life and in May, a program on meditation.

On June 17 the focus was on forgiving.

Led by Linda Lohsen and Nancy Ellson, nurses from the Center, each session begins with a 45-minute walk on the Conservancy trails. After light refreshments, participants gather at the Puffin Foundation for a one-hour workshop.

The fee for each program is $5.  The series is scheduled to resume in September.

Ellson, a nurse practitioner with a private psychotherapy practice, discovered while in therapy herself many years ago that she was a survivor of incest.

"I was way too angry to forgive," Ellson told the group of approximately 12 women. Then a chaplain at Fairleigh Dickinson University counseled her that forgiving did not mean forgetting.

"If I had not learned to forgive, I could have spent my whole life being angry," she said.  "It would have been a terrible waste of energy."

She recalls visiting her parents’ graves a few days after her mother’s funeral. Her father had died years before.

"I was able to stand at the grave and forgive him. It was a letting go," she said.

Although Ellson has no conscious memories of incestuous acts committed against her, she learned in therapy that her symptoms corresponded to those of victims of incest. Later, she underwent hypnosis and recovered memories of the actual events.

But bearing a grudge is like carrying a chair on one’s shoulders, she said. It is better for the victim to put it down.

The main benefit of forgiving comes to the forgiver, not the forgiven, she explained.

Ellison recalls confronting her mother about the abuse, years after her father’s death.

"My mother tilted way back in the chair, something she always told us not to do, and said, ‘There are certain things where you have to help yourself.’ "

Her mother’s lack of support increased her anger.

"I could have said ‘Why couldn’t I have grown up in a home where parents were not abusive?’ But it is not good for anyone to carry around that sort of rage."

Ultimately she was able to make the abuse part of her past, not her present.

Guidance from a mental health professional, such as a social worker, psychologist, psychiatric, nurse practitioner or licensed professional counselor can help people to deal with anger and work through issues about forgiveness, Ellson said. 

An integral part of each program is the walk through the Conservancy, a 40-acre tract of recovered swampland at the southeast end of Teaneck.

"The conservancy is a beautiful place that lends itself to meditative type walks," said Lohsen, who noted that more medical professionals today recognize the interdependence of physical health and emotional and spiritual well-being.

"Many illnesses are stress related," she said. "We are not talking about dealing with road rage but with preventing illnesses like heart disease and asthma, you can’t treat the body alone."

Rita, a Ridgefield Park resident, learned about the series through a hospital newsletter.

"The kind of beauty at Teaneck Creek re-focuses you and makes you calmer," she said. "It is amazing that it is here in the middle of Teaneck. It seems a country-like setting."

Teaneck resident Marylyn, a retired actress, uses the Center’s programs in conjunction with a variety of alternative therapies, including yoga and Chi Kung, to treat anxiety.

"I feel relaxed as soon as I come here," Marylyn said. "It is a very peaceful place. These activities definitely help de-stress me."

She noted that decades ago she saw a psychiatrist who prescribed psychiatric drugs. Many of these drugs produce permanent movement disorders. Others cause irreversible damage to the liver and kidneys.

After eliminating the psychiatric drugs from her life, Marylyn needed to find an alternative and decided to study acting, a decision that led to a new career.