Elyse R. Park, Ph.D., MPH Among MGH’s Highest-Awarded Researchers
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Elyse R. Park, Ph.D., MPH Among MGH’s Highest-Awarded Researchers
Elyse R. Park, PhD, MPH BHI’s Director of Behavioral Research, is among Massachusetts General Hospital’s top 25 researchers for sponsored research awards. Dr. Park’s clinical research focuses on tobacco treatment for cancer patients, cancer risk perceptions, cancer survivor quality of life, and resiliency.
Dr. Park is currently overseeing $7.2 million in grant-funded research projects, including two $2.5 million multi-year studies funded by the national Institutes of Health (NIH). Her studies involve the integration of mind body skills – specifically stress management and resiliency training– into tobacco treatment for cancer patients.
“We’ve shown in our last randomized treatment trial that the integration of mind body skills was really a key factor in whether the tobacco treatment was successful for cancer patients,” Dr. Park said. “The long and short of it is that cancer patients are more likely to quit and remain smoke-free if we teach them stress management coping skills and resiliency perspective strategies.”
Previous trials were conducted in an academic medical setting like MGH, yet the current trials will be implemented with community-based cancer center patients via an online telehealth platform. Dr. Park praised Tobacco Treatment Counselors Laura Malloy, LICSW, CTTS and Irina Gonzalez, MD, CTTS, who are working with her on these studies and possess unique skills in both tobacco treatment and mind-body techniques.
“We are so proud of Elyse – she is an extraordinary researcher and is among the most generative of our scientists here at MGH,” said BHI Director Gregory Fricchione, MD. “She is a mentor to a whole new generation of behavioral health researchers and BHI is very lucky to have her as a leader in this area.”
Dr. Park directs the MGH Clinical Research Program’s Qualitative Research Unit, teaching MGH investigators how to use qualitative research to inform interventions and measurement design. Her research has been supported by funding from the National Cancer Institute, American Cancer Society, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Livestrong Foundation. She has published over 180 peer reviewed original articles. She is also an Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and a senior scientist at MGH’s Mongan Institute for Health Policy. In 2017, she was honored as one of the 100 Everyday Amazing heroes by the MGH Cancer Center.
At the Benson-Henry Institute, Dr. Park has created a manualized version of the Stress Management and Resiliency Training- Relaxation Response Resiliency program (SMART-3RP) which is currently being tested with a variety of medical patient, clinician, and community-based populations.
Ramp up your resilience
By Harvard Health Publishing
The ability to bounce back from stress or adversity is important throughout life, especially in our older years. That’s when we face many transitions, such as health problems; job, income, and home changes; the loss of loved ones; and isolation or separation from friends, grown children, and grandchildren. How we adjust to these changes helps determine what life will look like moving forward. “Many people are living longer, and we want to make the most of these years so people can thrive,” says Laura Malloy, the Successful Aging program director at the Harvard-affiliated Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine.
The benefits of resilience
Coping with stress in a positive way is known as resilience, and it has many health benefits. It’s associated with longevity, lower rates of depression, and greater satisfaction with life. “There’s a sense of control, and it helps people feel more positive in general,” Malloy says.
Likewise, a lack of resilience means that you may not handle stress well in difficult situations. Chronic stress is associated with harmful health consequences such as high blood pressure, a weakened immune system, anxiety, depression, insomnia, heartburn, indigestion, and heart disease
Click HERE to read the full article
This is why we should all start breathing
By Remy Rippon
Vogue Australia
Inhale and exhale.
‘You should really meditate’. It’s a phrase you’ve probably heard a handful of times from that friend who seems to exude endless zen by taking 20 minutes out of their daily routine to calm their mind, centre their body, and simply breathe. And, who loves to share just how great it is. Well, as it turns out, they’re not wrong.
In fact, breathing is having a moment. There are apps to help you do it correctly (btw, there’s a right and wrong way), and the Apple Watch Series 2 even houses the Breathe app which pings you a notification to remind you to stop and take a moment out of your busy lives to, well, breathe.
Click HERE to read the full article
BHI and MGH Celebrate International Day of Yoga
The Benson-Henry Institute (BHI) and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) celebrated the International Day of Yoga with thousands of employees at the hospital’s annual Employee Appreciation Picnic June 21st. BHI serves as the hospital’s center of integrative health and wellness, offering yoga and tai chi classes, guided meditations and Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) programs.
At the employee picnic, BHI staffers provided information on the institute’s programmatic offerings, provided de-stress and chair yoga information and Director of Yoga Programs Laura Malloy, LICSW demonstrated gentle yoga moves to the thousands of employees who visited the booth on the Bullfinch Lawn.
“This was a wonderful setting to share information about the benefits of yoga and connect with those who have a practice or would like to start a yoga practice,” said Laura Malloy, LICSW, BHI’s Director of Yoga Programs.
Celebrations were held in more than 180 recognizing the importance of Yoga, the 5,000-year-old physical, mental and spiritual practice that got its start in India. Yoga is an important of self-care, and can help to slow the effect of stress and aging on both the body and mind. The celebration at MGH was supported by hospital administration, including MGH President Dr. Peter Slavin and was acknowledged by Shiripad Naik, Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Government of India’s State for Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy (Ministry of AYUSH).
BHI is pleased about a burgeoning relationship with AYUSH; this spring, Medical Director Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH helped organize a symposium on Integrative Medicine and the Role of Yoga and Ayurveda at Harvard Medical School. The symposium drew hundreds of participants from around the world. Participants included Dinesh Patel, MD, Emeritus Chief of Arthroscopic Surgery at MGH, BHI Director Dr. Gregory Fricchione and Research Director John W. Denninger, MD, PhD.
“Our founder, Dr. Herbert Benson, was one of the first doctors in the Western Hemisphere to recognize the importance of eastern practices in managing stress and improving health. Many of the mind body practices that we recommend have origins in India and its very exciting to see that come full circle,” Dr. Mehta said. “We’ve adopted these eastern practices and studied their efficacy in scientific practice. There’s a beautiful irony in being part of this new partnership.”
Desperate for Respite
By Kara Baskin GLOBE CORRESPONDENT MARCH 13, 2015
It’s noon on a dreary winter Friday at the Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine at Mass. General Hospital. Cars spray pedestrians
with filthy slush. Sirens squeal, horns screech, people jostle one another on the narrow sidewalks without bothering to look up. But peace and enlightenment may be at hand.
I’m perched on a chair in the office of Dr. Herbert Benson, a twinkly eyed cardiologist who exudes pure beatitude and who has agreed to walk me through the basics of meditation. Benson, 79, is director emeritus of the institute that bears his name. He is the sultan of destressing, a pioneer in mind-body medicine and one of the first physicians to link stress with physical health. Click HERE to read the full article
The Herbert Benson, MD Course in Mind Body Medicine – Oct 25-27
The Benson-Henry Institute’s annual Continuing Medical Education (CME) course will be held October 25-27, 2018 at Harvard Medical School. Since its launch more than 30 years ago, the course has provided thousands of clinicians and mind body practitioners from across the globe an opportunity to explore cutting-edge research, share best practices and discover new strategies for treating patients.
This year’s course will be historic, as it is the first year it is being named in honor of Herbert Benson, MD, renowned mind body pioneer and founder of the institute.
“Dr. Benson pioneered a new area of research; in modern science, his approach was unique – a western scientist willing to investigate ancient traditional approaches to health,” said BHI Director Gregory Fricchione, MD. “Dr. Benson came to understand that to maximize our patients’ chances of achieving health and wellness, we physicians, nurses and caregivers needed to help them advance their self-care. No longer would pharmaceuticals and procedures be sufficient. This, year we are proud to name our annual Benson-Henry institute/Harvard continuing medical education course in mind body medicine after Dr. Benson, our director emeritus.”
The 3-day Herbert Benson, MD Course in Mind Body Medicine will be held at the Joseph Martin Conference Center in Boston. Keynote speakers are Richard Davidson, PhD and Joan Borysenko, PhD.
The founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Davidson is a neuroscientist whose research centers on emotion and the brain. His most recent book (with coauthor Dan Goleman, PhD), Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body, was published last year. A professor of psychology and psychiatry, Dr. Davidson was named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by TIME magazine in 2006.
Dr. Borysenko is a Harvard-trained psychologist and internationally-recognized expert in the mind-body connection. She is the author of the New York Times bestseller Minding the Body, Mending the Mind, and a former colleague of Dr. Benson’s. A celebrated and uplifting public speaker, Dr. Borysenko is a blogger for the Huffington Post; her work has also appeared has appeared in outlets from The Washington Post to The Wall Street Journal.
The Herbert Benson, MD Course in Mind Body Medicine will focus on the latest research into the links between mind/brain and body and how the human being functions as a unit. Evidence-based practices that help us deal with stress related non-communicable diseases will be highlighted. Attendees will be able to take part in meditation workshops, tai chi and yoga sessions, and build skills through interactive workshops and panel discussions that support stress reduction and the enhancement of resiliency. Topics include mind body approaches to sleep, nutrition and exercise; how narrative story telling can help patients reframe their sense of wellbeing; ways to build your own mind body clinic; insight into our Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) program; integrative approaches to reducing burnout in healthcare providers; and the importance of self-care, among others.
Speakers include mindfulness researcher Dr. Judson Brewer, author of The Craving Mind, happiness expert Robert Waldinger, MD, noted sleep researcher Suzanne M. Bertisch, MD, MPH and acceptance and commitment therapy expert Dr. John Matthews, among others. Our BHI leadership team – including Drs. Benson and Fricchione – will also present latest in mind body medicine research.
The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 23.5 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. The Benson-Henry Institute will also apply for Continuing Education (CE) credit(s) for nurses and psychologists and for credit hours for social workers.
This program has been approved for 23.5 Social Work Continuing Education hours for relicensure, in accordance with 258 CMR. Collaborative of NASW and the Boston College and Simmons Schools of Social Work Authorization Number D 80092.
The Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry is approved by the American Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. The Massachusetts General Hospital, Department of Psychiatry, maintains responsibility for the program and its content. This offering meets the criteria for 18.5 Continuing Education (CE) credit(s) for psychologists.
This continuing nursing education activity was approved by the American Nurses Association Massachusetts (ANA MASS), an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. The Herbert Benson, MD Course in Mind Body Medicine, has been approved for 23.5 contact hours.
Registration for the course is conducted through Harvard Medical School. For more information on this course, please visit mindbody.hmscme.com or email jmeek@partners.org.
Disease Linked to Childhood Stress
According to a new Harvard study that followed 6,700 Britons from age 7 to 45, lifelong distress takes more of a health toll than being stressed in either childhood or adulthood. But if you have to endure distress during just one period, childhood is a more vulnerable time.
Childhood distress may be particularly important because that’s when people are learning how to control their emotions, said Ashley Winning, a postdoctoral research fellow and social epidemiologist at the Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, who was the first author on the study.
New Program for Kids with Chronic GI Problems
Has your child been diagnosed with a chronic GI condition?
Does your child have Chronic Abdominal Pain, Inflammatory Bowel Disease or Irritable Bowel Syndrome?
Join us for
Resilient Kids: A Mind Body Program
This interactive, engaging, research-validated program gives teens, ages 12-18, the self-care skills they need to reduce physical symptoms and move through life’s physical and emotional challenges with greater resiliency. Your child will learn:
• How stress affects thoughts and feelings
• Meditation methods that can reduce symptoms and improve physical health, such as deep breathing, mindfulness and imagery
• How to foster positive thoughts and attitudes
Enrollment: For more information, or to sign up, please email Rana Chudnofsky at rchudnofsky@partners.org or call 617-643-6068.
Dates, Times and Location:
This eight-session program will begin January 21st 2015. Sessions will be held Wednesdays from 3:30 – 5:00 p.m. at the Benson-Henry Institute,
151 Merrimac Street, 4th floor, Boston, MA.
Cost: $300 per participant
Leadership: This program is led by Leslee Kagan, MS, FNP, and Rana Chudnofsky, Director of the BHI Education Initiative.
Parent Group:
Parents have the option to participate in a separate stress-reduction and resiliency building program while their children’s program is in session. Cost: $200 for one or both parents.
BHI Featured on New England Cable News
An interview with BHI’s Dr. Darshan Mehta about the health benefits of mind body medicine as part of Cancer Awareness Month:Wednesday October 15, 2014
Lovely Testimonial for Successful Aging Program
“It’s taken me most of my life to realize that achievement and competency are not really a path to self-confidence, equanimity and a well-balanced life.
Perfectionism didn’t help me to cover up my ADD blunders and my feelings of unworthiness and shame. Although Alanon has helped me to become a more balanced person with better self-esteem, I have remained anxious and “driven” — a workaholic. My system was wired, and I just couldn’t stop — until a few months ago.
Since starting the Benson-Henry Institute’s Successful Aging program this summer, my meditation practice has deepened and it’s changing me. Ann Webster also offered us several other healing modalities, well integrated into a meaningful sequence. I’ve studied and practiced yoga, tai chi, nutrition, and several other modalities, but having them all integrated made the total greater than the sum of the parts. The best part for me was how much more focused I’m feeling.
I’ve been working at meditating since 1974, but my efforts felt dutiful, were sporadic and didn’t affect me much until this summer. Now I feel greater objectivity and self-awareness. Though I am not yet really focused, there seems to be somebody inside, helping me think more clearly. I don’t feel so overwhelmed by the amount of things I “should” be doing. Sometimes I realize I just don’t want to do a thing. I notice when I’m getting space-y, but I don’t bawl myself out so often. I’m feeling more who I am, and have fewer downs and ups. It seems there’s always something I can do to to help myself feel better. And I don’t have to accomplish some worthy task outside of myself to do it!
Thank you Ann, and all the whole Mind-Body Institute crew.
K.C.
