Medical Symptom Reduction programs

Objective

This program creates a social support system that encourages patient compliance to prescribed lifestyle and/or drug or device therapy. It also provides improved general self care and develops strong positive associations for patients with their therapy and illness.

Program

This objective is achieved through a patient wellness program that results in reduced medical symptoms. This program is a series of 2-3 hour workshops that educate patients on the use of behavioral medicine techniques to reduce the symptoms associated with their illness and encourage general good health.

This involves education on the use of interventions including: the relaxation response, nutrition, exercise, resourceful thinking styles and self motivation techniques for the improvement of medical symptoms.

Outcome

Patients will be supported to make significant lifestyle changes that will enhance longevity and encourage acceptance of their therapy.

Intake and exit assessments will enable the success of the program to be easily documented and provide a benchmark for evaluating the effectiveness of the program.

Significant improvement in patient compliance rates can be expected from this program due to increased patient social support and decreased negative perceptions of therapy. Improved health outcomes will follow.

Support for the approach

These programs are built on the work of the Benson Henry Institute of Mind Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School Institute.This is a non-profit scientific and educational organization dedicated to the study of mind/body interactions. It evolved from more than 30 years of pioneering work in the field of mind/body medicine by Herbert Benson and the Harvard Medical School. Their research led to the definition of the relaxation response.

The Programs developed from the Mind/Body Medical Institute are delivered to the general public, the corporate sector, teachers, students and health care professionals around the world.

The effectiveness of these programs is seen in the results of these medical trials:

Mind/Body Medical Institute Clinical Findings Include:

• Chronic pain patients reduce their physician visits by 36 percent. The Clinical Journal of Pain. Volume 2, pages 205-310. 1991


• Eighty percent of hypertensive patients have lowered blood pressure and decreased medications - 16 percent are able to discontinue all of their medications. These results lasted at least three years. Journal of Cardiopulmonary Rehabilitation. Volume 9, pages 216-224, 1989


• Open-heart surgery patients have significantly fewer post-operative complications. Behavioral Medicine, Volume 5, pages 111-117, 1989


• Seventy-five percent of insomnia patients become normal sleeper and 90 percent and reduce or entirely eliminate sleeping medications. Behavior Therapy, Volume 24, pages 159-174, 1992 and Behavior Modification, Volume 17. Pages 498-509. 1992


• Infertile women have a 34 percent conception rate and decreased levels of depression, anxiety and anger. Fertility and Sterility, Volume 58, pages 144-147, 1992


• Women with severe PMS have a 57 percent reduction in physical and psychological symptoms. Obstetrics and Gynecology. Volume 75. Pages 649-655, April 1990


• High school students exposed to a relaxation response-based curriculum and significantly increased their self-esteem. The Journal of Research and Development in Education, Volume 27, pages 226-221,1994