Yasmine Buraik

Psychiatric CounselorPsychiatric Services and community Counseling Division

Mind-Body-Soul Medicine:

Applications in Health

How the Mind Hurts and Heals the Body

The mind is its own place, and in itself

Can make a Heav’n of Hell, a Hell of Heav’n.

John Milton, Paradise Lost In 1948

The Dance of Soma and Psyche

The Mind steadfastly refuses to behave locally, as contemporary scientific evidence is beginning to show. We now know for example, that brain like tissue is found throughout the body…So, even from the conservative perspective of modern neurochemistry, it is difficult if not impossible to follow a strictly a local view of the brain

Larry Dossey, M.D

The New Medicine

• In 2001 The American Psychological Association amended its bylaws to recognize “promoting health” as one of its major missions (Thorn & Saab, 2001).

• In the past, the point of contact between psychology and health has sometimes been couched in economic terms.

• Another focus has been on the contributions psychology can make to the prevention of substance abuse and other behavioral social issues such as child abuse (Carpenter, 2001; Ray & Ksir, 2004)

The Biopsychosocial Model

• The causes, development, and outcomes of an illness are determined by the interaction of psychological, social, and cultural factors with biochemistry and physiology.

• Our physiology and biochemistry are not separate and distinct from the rest of our life and our experiences.

• The mind—a manifest functioning of the brain—and the other body systems interact in ways critical for health, illness, and well-being.

The New Medicine

• ‘patient-centered care’ is emerging as a key concept in modern medicine” . Patients who exerted “more control” and have “more expression of emotion” during their visit to the doctor’s office showed improved health and felt better. (Frishman, 1996)

• “the modes of explanation appropriate to illnesses like infections and poisons may not be applicable to more complex complaints, such as those involving interactions between mind, body and culture. . . . new modes of characterizing medical problems are needed” (Chiong (2001)

,

Health Care Models

Component of Health care Models

Past Future

Focus Fighting Sickness Building Health

Emphasis Environmental factors

Behavioral factors

Causes of disease Pathogen Host-Pathogen interaction

Patient role Passive recipient of treatment

Active in treatment and health

Belief system of patient

Irrelevant Critically important

Physician Role Determiner of treatment and healing process

Collaborator in treatment and healing process

What is Mind-Body Medicine

• Mind-body medicine focuses on the interactions among the brain, mind, body, and behavior.

• Recognizes that emotional, mental, social, spiritual, and behavioral factors can directly affect health.

• It regards as fundamental an approach that respects and enhances each person's capacity for self-knowledge and self-care.

• It emphasizes techniques that are grounded in this approach.

• The Fight and Flight Response

• The Nervous System

• The Limbic System

• Autonomic Nervous System

• Endocrine System

• Immune System

Biological Underpinnings of Mind-Body Therapies

The Body of Evidence

• Extensive research in various fields, especially Neurobiology, Neurophysiology, Neuropsycholgy, Neurochemistry and Psychoneuroimmunology

• Some techniques better researched than others, but support for all.

• As a result of evidence-based data, the relaxation response is becoming a part of mainstream medicine.  Approximately 60% of US medical schools now teach the therapeutic use of relaxation-response techniques (Friedman, Zuttermeister, Benson, 1993) 

The Three Brains

The Fight and Flight Response

Our Survival Mechanism

• Walter Bradford Cannon, MD, 1926

• Danger of stress

• Arousal and preparation

• Increased heart rate

• Faster breathing

• Muscular tension

• Coldness and sweating

• Decreased intestinal activity

• Dilated pupils

The Negative Mind

• Chronic stress affects the mind

• You can not afford the luxury of negative thinking

• The Negative Mind and psychiatric conditions

The Relaxation Response

Remembered Wellness

• Dr. Herbert Benson , MD, 1971

• the "relaxation response“ is the opposite of the fight-or-flight response.  It results in decreased metabolism, heart rate, blood pressure, and breathing rate; as well as slower brain waves (Wallace, Benson, Wilson, 1971)  )

• Inducing the relaxation response through Mind-Body Skills

• The fight-or-flight response occurs automatically, without requiring the use of a technique. Steps are usually required to elicit the relaxation response

Altered States

Benefits of Mind-Body Skills

• Physiological relaxation

• Stress reduction

• Pain reduction and relief

• Modulation of mood

• Stimulating immune responses

• Improved physical and emotional well-being

• Decreased medication

• Improved tolerance

• Encouraging active participation in own care

• Empowering patient

• Discovering meaning in illness or difficult situations

• Enhancing self-awareness

Principles of Mind Body Skills Groups

• Safe Place

• Respect

• Educational

• Staying in the moment

• Increased awareness

• Leader as teacher and real person

• Power of self care

• Group as growth organism

• Flexibility

Mind-Body Skills

• Breathing

• Autogenic Training

• Biofeedback

• Movement

• Meditation

• Imagery

• Drawing and Journaling

• Genograms

• Rituals

Breathing

Movement

Meditation

Imagery and Visualization

Journaling and Drawing

Genograms.

Rituals

Mind-Body Skills Groups Information

• Offered through Community Counseling Clinic on regular basis

• Meets twice a week for five weeks for a total of 10 sessions

• Limited participants in each group

• Arabic women only groups

• Mixed English groups

• Children’s groups

• To sign up call 877-8400 or 877-7015

Mind-Body Skills Groups

A revolution

“There’s been a huge transformation in the way we view the relationship

between our mind and good health, our mind and disease. . . . In many

ways, it’s nothing short of a revolution”

Robert Ader, 1980

Thank you

Thank You