Herbal Foundations for Social Emotional Wellbeing
Harvesting Muckleshoot’s Health & Wellness through Traditional Plant Knowledge
Tahoma Peak Solutions was proud to partner with Muckleshoot Behavioral Health to develop a transformative Tribal wellness project known as "Herbal Foundations for Social Emotional Wellbeing." Through this initiative, Tahoma Peak Solutions trained mental health counselors and therapists to incorporate traditional plant knowledge into their therapeutic practices, culminating in an herbal apothecary and educational video series.
Tahoma Peak Solutions’ Valerie Segrest led a comprehensive nine-month program where participants learned to create herbal medicines such as infused oils, aromatherapy spritzers, salves, teas, and more. This hands-on experience enhanced mental health professionals’ approach to Native mental health care by equipping them with tools to foster cultural connections through traditional plant use.
Tahoma Peak Solutions’ program also involved establishing an herbal apothecary within the Muckleshoot Health & Wellness Facility, enabling counselors to offer clients alternative methods for mental health support and connections with their cultural heritage. By utilizing about 20 different plants, participants were educated on their traditional uses by the Muckleshoot people and their benefits to Native emotional stamina and social resilience. Participants gained field experience identifying and harvesting traditional plants with monthly intensives covering topics such as Coast Salish health systems, heart medicine, tree teachings, and root medicine.
In a series of videos produced by Tahoma Peak Solutions and New Canoe Media, Valerie Segrest emphasized the importance of connecting with the local land as an important Indigenous mental health practice. The video series encouraged Muckleshoot people to visit outdoor spaces and highlighted the centuries of ancestral teachings and memories they hold. Each video’s footage and interviews with Muckleshoot Tribal leaders featured significant lands within the Muckleshoot territory (including Federation Forest, Nolte State Park, and Flaming Geyser Park) and told powerful stories about the Muckleshoot people’s birthrights and cultural usage of local plants.
Tahoma Peak Solutions’ collaboration with Muckleshoot Behavioral Health underscored the significance of cultural heritage and paved the way for more culturally relevant and effective mental health care. By deepening the cultural competency of mental health professionals with practical herbal medicine skills, the "Herbal Foundations for Social Emotional Wellbeing" project was transformative in restoring traditional health systems and integrating them into modern therapeutic practices for a more holistic approach to mental well-being.
