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Health and Wellness Magazine • 23 303 730 8858 turn-to-us.com Multiple locations in the south metro area • Private insurance accepted Everyone needs a little help now and then. Do you find yourself trying to cope with emotional issues such as relationship difficulties, anxiety and depression? Help is right here. • Confidential therapy and counseling for individuals, couples and families. • Board-certified psychiatrists. • An extensive referral network, including substance abuse services. Eliminate baggage. Green Therapy Limited research shows that playing in or just being surrounded by nature can buy ADHD kids, who struggle with sensory input, some calm. "Nature is calmer and more peaceful — there's less visual input, and it's not loud," Vause says. A 2011 study, "Could Exposure to Everyday Green Spaces Help Treat ADHD?," published in Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being found that such spaces, when measured against built outdoor and indoor settings, made more of a difference in symptom severity. Exercise Exercise, indoors or outside, can help ease symptoms, and is something Vause recommends to all of her patients. John Ratey, an associate clinical professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and author of many books about exercise's effect on the brain, has said that people should think of exercise as medication and something they should do, generally in conjunction with drugs, to help increase attention and improve mood. One 2003 study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology looked at the effects of recess on ADHD kids' classroom behavior and concluded: "Levels of inappropriate behavior were consistently higher on days when participants did not have recess, compared with days when they did have recess." Neurofeedback This method maps the brain and uses brain exercises to improve impulse control and attentiveness. While pricey — treatment can run thousands of dollars — there is some evidence it works. In a study of 100 children, half were medicated and the other half received medication and neurofeedback. Results found that the latter group maintained improved attentiveness after both groups were taken off medication. Parents should note, however, that the therapy hasn't been extensively tested. In the end, Vause says, many alternative therapies are worth trying. But she cautions against dismissing medication outright. Evidence shows that treating ADHD will dramatically reduce the risk of substance abuse later in life, when untreated teens or adults might attempt to self-medicate, she says. Kris Scott with her boys on a hike enjoying some "green therapy" at Mallory Cave in Boulder.