Environmental Health Counseling
By Peggy Wolff

Environmental health counseling blends personal health with environmental health. Personal health, one's inner milieu, includes the physical, mental, emotional, and most importantly, the spiritual aspects of oneself. Environmental health, one's outer milieu, includes all physical spaces in which one spends time: the home, school or workplace, church, even the car.

While holistic practitioners are paying close attention to each of the key aspects of personal health, the environment has too often been overlooked. Since environmental pollution is frequently cited as an important factor in worsening, if not causing, several illnesses, like allergies, asthma, and chemical sensitivity, the time has come for us to take the next step and become even more inclusive by considering the impact of harmful physical spaces upon us.

MY personal experience with environmental illness convinced me of the importance of physical space in relation to personal health. As one of the developers of an innovative national certificate program in holistic nursing, I am very familiar with a wide variety of holistic healing methods such as homeopathy, chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and nutrition. I tried all of these methods in order to improve my own health, which had deteriorated from "excellent" to "poor" over many years. Most of these methods offered symptomatic relief for which I was most grateful. However, because they did not take into sufficient account my unhealthy environment, the relief never lasted.

Developing environmental illness can be confusing and terrifying even for an experienced health care provider like myself. At the worst point in my own illness, I couldn't get out of bed. My chest ached with each breath. My limbs felt like lead. I couldn't think. I had no idea what was wrong with me but clearly something was terribly wrong. I felt embarrassed. How could it be that even though I knew so much about health and healing, I was so sick? I was scared that I had some mysterious illness, that I wouldn't recover, and even that I would die. Having rapidly lost 25% of my body weight at that time, I did look like I was standing at death's door.

Weeks later, I found out that I had severe chemical sensitivities, commonly known as Multiple Chemical Sensitivities (MCS). I had developed a weakened immune system from overexposure to low levels of toxic chemicals, especially formaldehyde. Recent renovations in my "tightly built" 1980 home had greatly increased the "outgassing of these chemicals. Thinking that I was removing dust and mold in my home by washing down the walls and removing the carpeting, which exposed particle-board flooring, I was unknowingly adding fuel to the fire.

The lesson from my personal experience is clear: I had to focus on both my internal and external worlds to heal my environmental illness. In many ways, changing my internal world was easier than changing my outside environment. Certainly, that part of my life was more familiar to me. I found relief in organic foods, detoxification baths, IV vitamins and minerals, stress reduction techniques, walking and jogging.

Finding a "safe" external environment, however, proved to be a longer and more complex challenge. My body required a supremely "clean" space. For me, I needed to camp out for six months in a tent in the Southwest, live in a specially built trailer for one and a half years, and build a nontoxic home.

Now, six years later, my health continues to improve daily as I live in my "clean" home. What I learned during this healing process I now put to use in two ways: first, as the chairperson of the Environmental Health Coalition of Western Massachusetts, an advocacy organization that assists people who have been chemically injured, and second, as an environmental health counselor.

For me, environmental health counseling builds upon my past work and personal life experiences. Stress reduction skills learned from Jon Kabat-Zinn in the mid-'80s, psychotherapeutic skills, especially a spiritually based approach called Psychosynthesis, and holistic nursing theory and methods have been woven into my unique form of counseling. Similar to AA, with reformed alcoholics helping people who are still addicted, I incorporate what I have learned from my healing process into my clinical practice.

There are three main groups of people who most frequently use the services of an environmental health counselor. First are people who have identified that either their home or their place of work is adversely affecting their health. Second are people who have been diagnosed with environmentally related illnesses such as allergies, asthma, chronic fatigue, or chemical sensitivities. The third group includes people who are sick and don't know why.

What can you expect if you go to an environmental health counselor? First and foremost, you can expect that the office space will be nontoxic (hardwood or tile floors, nontoxic furnishings and cleaners, air purification system, and an absence of fragrances). When family members accompany the clients, an added opportunity arises for explanation of the health condition, assessment of others in the household who may be developing environmental health problems, and the cooperation of the client's support network in making necessary changes such as switching personal care, laundry, and cleaning products.

Initial sessions include history taking and identifying and prioritizing problems of both the client and the client's environment. A problem-solving approach reduces anxiety, which is commonly present. Emphasizing what the client and their significant other(s) can do for themselves greatly increases their sense of control and minimizes energy and financial expenditures. Suggestions on useful books, audio- and videotapes, sources of "safer" products or equipment for mold or chemical testing, and how to contact local, state, and national groups that focus on environmental illness are offered. Experience in this field has taught me to appreciate the complexity and uniqueness of each situation. When indicated, referrals are made to other health care personnel who are knowledgeable about environmental illnesses and to environmental housing consultants. Follow-up sessions may be necessary since it can be a lengthy process to rebuild not only one's personal health but to make key changes in one's home or workplace environment.

Peggy Wolff, M.S., R.N.C.S., provides environmental health counseling through Healthy People, Healthy Places in Leverett, Mass. She may be contacted at 413/253-2646.