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268 State Street, Bangor
The Healing all around us
Liza Bishop, LMT, RN, Master Gardener
Always an avid garderner, it was after Liza Bishop,LMT, RN, went to the Wise Woman Center in New York, and took a course in Herbal Medicine with Susan Weed, herbalist and author of the Wise Woman books, that she began to craft her own blends of herbal balms and tinctures.
After returning from the Wise Woman Center, Liza realized
that there were healing plants growing all around her home.
“I could not believe that I had St. John’s Wort
growing all around my house. And Plantain, the so-called
“bandaid plant” is all around: That was it for me.”
study as well as 40 hours of volunteer work, which
she completed at Roger’s Farm in Old Town.
Having recently been licensed as a massage therapist, Liza decided to take her private passion for herbal balms and oils to a higher level by professionally packaging and making them available out of her office here at RCTWC. Liza uses her herbal blends in her practice and she wants to make them available for her clients as well as other massage therapists.
“I love to make these remedies available.”
Liza wildcrafts many of the plants and organically grows some that do not grow wild, such as lemon balm and lavender.
After gathering her ingredients, Liza cleans them, breaks or cuts them, and then infuses them into olive oil for 6 weeks. Her herbal blends are all natural, with no chemical preservatives. “Just olive oil and the plants”. The balms are thicker—salve-like-- with beeswax. The tinctures are in Vodka. Liza relates that some people are surprised when they open the jar and find they don’t have much scent.
“These are medicinal, so I don’t put any scent in them. If you want
fragrance, you can add your own essential oils.”
Liza’s Balms have names, such as Balm of Abundance, which features Plantain. This balm is indicated for bug bites, bee stings, cracks in fingers and heels, and burns. Why Abundance?
“Because, it’s everywhere”.
For more information about Liza Bishop and her North Spirit Healing Balms, Oils, and Tinctures, visit her website at http://www.northspirithealing.com/
For more about Susun Weed and Wise Woman Herbal Medicine, visit:
The class will include meditation, pranayam (breathing techniques) and intermediate level posture flows
(suitable for those with at least one year of yoga practice.)
The cost of the class is $15 per class.
Please contact Sandy at 866-4103 or email fullcircleyoga@yahoo.com for more information.
FELDENKRAIS CLASSES
Awareness Through Movement 6 consecutive weeks: $12 per class Begins June 24 at 4:00 p.m. Third Floor Studio
Call Cathy to pre-register at 974-7618, or by
email at nekoashi06@msn.com .
A funny thing happened on the way to the OR.
Life has a way of making decisions for us. Take Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner Debra Ort:
“I always thought I’d be an operating room nurse. I thought that would be more challenging and interesting. But I got hired as a psychiatric nurse before I got hired at Eastern Maine”. She later went on to become a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner because she "needed more of a challenge.”
And she has it. The waiting room at RCTWC is usually filled with people waiting to see Ms. Ort, whether they are patients who need her kind attention to their meds or drug company reps looking for a rare moment of her time.
“ I enjoy it. It’s stressful at times. Some days I just want to pull my hair out. But
I enjoy it. Most days.” She laughs warmly.
Ort is a tall woman, and you might find her in the dictionary under the word, “grounded”. She seems centered and steady and able to hold you up. Someone you can count on. A vital trait for a therapist. Ort has a ready laugh and large eyes the color of milk chocolate that hold a caring gaze. Someone you’d like to come and share your struggles with.
Ort specializes in medication management for conditions as varied as anxiety, depression, and schizophrenia. She does some therapy, focusing on current stressors and how to deal with them, processing grief and life changes such as job loss. Ort says that most of her work is about “ finding the right combination of medications.”
Clients come to Ort through referral from a physician or therapist or through the recommendation of a friend.
Ort stresses the importance of having a medical evaluation by a primary care physician to rule out physical conditions, such as hypothyroidism, which can cause emotional problems. She works to educate her clients to take care of these physical issues “before they expect the psych meds to do anything for them. If your diabetes is out of control, you’re going to feel terrible. You’re going to feel agitated. You’re going to have a hard time with fatigue, concentration--those are all side effects of diabetes. So if you don’t have your diabetes under control, it is very hard for me to treat your mental health issues.” Ort states that her goal is, “To work more closely with primary healthcare providers on patient care. Make sure everyone is on the same page.”
Client education is vital in her work. Clients need to understand what drugs can and can’t do for them and what to expect when they first begin to take medication. Ort is there to support and guide them through the adjustment period, and any side effects, when they first start a medication.
“It is so hard to diagnose people. So many symptoms overlap. There is a lot of trial and error. To find the right drug or the right combination. It can take weeks to see if a drug will work—especially antidepressants.” For people who are already having trouble coping that can be hard, and that is where Ort’s centered presence is key.
Along with medication, new coping skills are usually needed. Clients sometimes have unrealistic expectations concerning what psychiatric medication can do for them. Fighting clients’ magic bullet hopes, Ort is realistic:
“The meds can’t fix everything. Nothing is going to take it all away," she states frankly. Many clients have “never learned how to deal with their emotions. They think ‘I feel better because I have this medication,’ but there will be stressors in your life that medication can’t help. If a client calls and says, ‘My parent just died. I need something to help me get through this.’ I say, “You need to grieve. I can’t medicate you out of grief. It’s just not possible. A pill’s not going to do everything.”
In a medical climate where drugs are often the first, last, and only treatment considered, Ort’s outlook is refreshing.
“ I think one of my strongest points in my practice is looking at the person as a whole. What are your medical issues? What’s going on in your life?”
Ort strives to work with her clients’ needs and is willing to explore other avenues of treatment. “I’m more than willing to help them do that. If they don’t want to do medications at all, or if they’d like to come off some of the medications another provider has put them on. Let’s try it. I like to keep meds very simple. I don’t like to have people on a lot of meds.” She also works with dosing schedules to come up with realistic plans that can be complied with.
When asked what she likes best about her work, Ort replies with a smile,
“I like watching my clients make life changes, develop coping skills. Turn their lives around.”
Five signs that may indicate it’s time to look into treatment:
1. No enjoyment of life. Which goes on for weeks. First, go see your primary caregiver to
rule out physical causes such as hypothyroidism or B 12 deficiency.
2. Lack of sleep. Which continues for days.
3. Hallucinations. Hearing or seeing things others do not.
5. Weight gain or loss of 10 pounds or more when you’re not trying.
Deb Ort was RCTWC’s first mental health practitioner, but has been joined by Marianne Fricke, LCSW, who specializes in counselingand cognitive behavioural therapy. As well as their separate treatment rooms, Deb and Marianne share a second floor business office staffed by Sarah Niles, Deb Ort's office manager, who handles her scheduling and bookkeeping, and Larry Lossier, Marianne’s “Best Boy” (and husband), also known to problem solve phone and computer crises for owner Deb Roof.
My name is Debra Ort. I graduated from the University of Maine in Orono, with a BS in Nursing and returned to school years later to Husson College and graduated with my Master’s in Nursing and certificate as an Adult Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner. I am board certified through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) as a PMH-NP (psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner). I have many years of experience both in an inpatient psychiatric treatment facility and on an outpatient basis.
I utilize a collaborative approach to treating mental health issues with the main focus being on you, the client and your input into your treatment. I also believe in treating mental health from a holistic standpoint by taking into consideration your medical concerns, life style and stressors. I approach treatment with utilizing not only medication management but discussion of other alternatives that may be utilized in combination with medication management or in place of medication such as individual therapy, stress reduction techniques, life style changes, etc. I provide treatment for ages 13 and older and accept the majority of health care insurances. Please contact me if you have any questions or want to discuss treatment options. And remember to:
