The Benson-Henry Institute (BHI) for Mind Body Medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) is pleased to announce it is now accepting applications for the 2019 Watts Scholarship program.  Launched in 2017, the Watts Scholarship fully funds two clinicians in earning Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) Certification for Healthcare Practitioners.

The BHI’s copyrighted SMART program has been shown to have far-reaching positive effects on overall health and wellness – a 2015 preliminary study showed patients who participated in BHI programs reduced their medical visits on average by 43% in the year after taking part.

Through the generous support of Mr. Randy Watts, an enthusiastic benefactor of BHI’s work, two training scholarships will be available to cover the total training costs of scholarship awardees who work with under-served populations.  This year, Mr. Watts has stipulated that one scholarship be awarded to a Partners employee, and the other be available to non-Partners clinicians, as well.

“Stress is a leading cause of many health conditions, and our research clearly shows we can improve our own health outcomes by reducing stress through self-care,” said BHI Director Gregory L. Fricchione, MD.  “We believe spreading SMART – especially to those who are at greatest stress risk – is critical to the health of our country.  We are so grateful to Randy Watts for helping us bring this important work to those who need it most.”

In its first year, the Watts Scholarship funded two Boston-based clinicians: Mary Susan Convery, MSW, LICS, a clinical social work specialist and member of the Social Service Leadership team at MGH and Sarah Wettenstein, LICSW, a behavioral health clinician in the Office-Based Addiction Treatment Program of the Boston Health Care for the Homeless. 

In 2018, the program supported studies for Paul Arnstein, PhD, RN, PhD, FNP-C, ACNS-BC, Director of MGH Cares about Pain Relief at Massachusetts General Hospital and a leading researcher on the value of nurse-led interventions for chronic pain patients.  The Watts Committee also selected Dr. Irma Torres-Rivera, who is using SMART to help residents of San Juan, Puerto Rico build resilience and manage stress as the entire island works to rebuild from the devastating effects of Hurricane Maria.

 

Watts Scholarship Information

Licensed healthcare clinicians who would like to become certified to provide the Stress Management and Resiliency Training (SMART) program to their patients are eligible to apply.  Full details and training requirements for becoming a BHI SMART-Certified Healthcare Practitioner can be found here.

Applications are due July 12, 2019 and eligibility requirements include:

1. Applicants must be a practicing healthcare clinician licensed in one of the following categories:

– Doctor (MD, DO)
– Nurse (RN, NP)
– PhD/EdD/PsyD
– Master’s-level social worker
– Master’s-level mental health counselor

2. Applicants must demonstrate their work with under-served patient populations who will benefit from SMART training.
3. Applicants must be able to complete all training activities within the course of 1 year.

Application Instructions

SMART Scholarship Application

If you have questions or require further information, please contact Jocelyn Meek at jmeek@partners.org.