Allyson Murphy, from Houghton, New York, was selected as the first-place winner of the North Carolina School Counselor Association (NCSCA) Graduate Student Poster Session for her poster titled, "Ecotherapy in the School Setting." Murphy is a second-year graduate student in the professional school counseling program, which is housed in the Reich College of Education’s (RCOE) Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling (HPC).
The poster session was part of the annual NCSCA conference, which was held virtually on November 5, 2020. In addition to being the winner, Murphy was also selected as the recipient of the NCSCA scholarship.
“It felt really rewarding to dive into a project that aligns so many of my passions - early intervention, incorporating nature-based programs, etc. - into one presentation,” said Murphy. “I am really grateful for the opportunity to have done the research and receive support from faculty through the process as well.”
Dr. Lucy Purgason, assistant professor in HPC, was “thrilled to hear that Allyson was selected as the first-place winner.”
“Allyson's poster topic on ecotherapy combines her love of nature and the outdoors with her passion for school counseling,” she added. “The implications she shared on how school counselors can incorporate nature in their work with students are especially timely as students are increasingly spending more time on screens.”
Murphy’s poster presentation explored existing literature on the benefits of ecotherapy to answer the following questions:
What are the potential social/emotional benefits of including nature-based programming, such as horticultural activities, in educational settings as part of a comprehensive school counseling curriculum?
How can these social-emotional benefits bolster all student’s sense of belonging within the school setting?
“Implications of these research questions were used to create multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) interventions that school counselors can deliver to bolster positive social-emotional growth and student empowerment,” added Murphy.
“At a time when students are experiencing heightened adverse health issues due to isolation and other factors caused by the effects of COVID-19, it is important for school counselors to create comprehensive programs that will support student social/emotional wellness,” said Murphy.
Murphy completed her bachelor’s degree at Houghton College, a small liberal arts college in western New York. A friend of Murphy’s completed the professional school counseling program at Appalachian and “spoke very highly of it.”
As Murphy conducted her own research of programs, she was drawn to the courses offered at Appalachian. “I really liked my interview experience, getting to meet professors and current students in the program.”
I also love the mountains and wanted to live somewhere where I could have plenty of access to hiking and trail running,” she added.
Allyson Murphy
