Registration is now open for The Herbert Benson, MD Course in Mind Body Medicine, the Benson-Henry Institute’s celebrated continuing medical education (CME) course, offered in partnership with Harvard Medical School.

The course will be held live, in person at the Fairmont Copley Hotel in Boston, MA October 22-24, 2026 and will be livestreamed to participants around the world.  Video recordings of all talks will be available to all conference-goers for up to 90 days.

BHI is also offering three optional online pre-course workshops:

• Mind Body Approaches to Weight Management
• Group Medical Visits to Guide Patients to Healthier Lifestyle Behaviors
• Mind Body Approaches to Trauma-Informed Care NEW!

“The field of mind body medicine continues to explode with new scientific insights in areas like neuroinflammation and autoimmunity and neuroimaging and epigenetics and psychedelics along with the impacts of integrative biopsychosocial and spiritual approaches on stress related illnesses. This year we have again lined up an impressive roster of experts in these and other areas of mind body medicine and we hope you will join us,” said BHI Director Gregory Fricchione, MD.

Learners at the Benson Course can individualize their schedule and select from three choices of lectures during the day (Keynote speakers are scheduled at the beginning and end of each day). Since all talks are recorded and all learners have access to the video library for up to 90 days, this year, Harvard Medical School has increased the number of credits to 55.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ for this course.

“The increased credits underscore a commitment not only to state-of-the-art education but also to equipping leaders who will redefine healthcare delivery and empowering clinicians with the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to lead the next era of whole-person care,” said BHI Medical Director and Course Director Darshan Mehta, MD, MPH.

Keynote speakers are:

• Alessio Fasano, MD, director of the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at Mass General Brigham for Children and a world-renowned expert whose research on Celiac Disease has helped bring awareness and improve treatment for the disease.
• Chef Eric Ripert, chef and co-owner of the acclaimed New York restaurant Le Bernardin, whose meditation practice and time spent over the years in Tibetan and Korean monasteries, influences his very tangible, everyday rituals—pausing before cooking to set intention, approaching ingredients with respect, cooking without distraction, and reframing mistakes as part of the process rather than something to react to.
• Emma Seppälä, PhD, Faculty Director of the Yale School of Management’s Women’s Leadership Program, bestselling author and noted researcher in positive leadership, emotional intelligence, well-being and social connection.
• Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, PhD, American scientist, psychologist/neuroscientist, academic and researcher focusing on the working of the human brain
• Marketa M. Wills, M.D., M.B.A., FAPA, CEO/Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), former Chief Medical Officer of the Johns Hopkins Health Plans and co-author of the groundbreaking book Understanding Mental Illness.

This program is among the highest-rated Harvard Medical School CME course. The Harvard Medical School is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 55.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. For additional accreditation information, please see below.

Participants will get:

• The latest clinical approaches and integrative models of care
• Cutting-edge research into the linkages between the brain and the body
• Education on genomics, transcriptomics, metabolomics ad how to leverage recent advances in the neuroimaging of contemplative states
• Current data on stress, stress management and resilience enhancement, and their impacts on patient health and treatment options

For course scheduling, information and to register, please visit https://learn.hms.harvard.edu/mindbody.  Register by September 20^th to save $100 with the early bird discount.

About our Keynotes

Alessio Fasano, MD is director of the Mucosal Immunology and Biology Research Center at MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Dr. Fasano’s research established that celiac disease affects approximately 1 percent of the U.S. population, a significantly higher number than previously believed, and helped define gluten sensitivity as a condition on the spectrum of gluten-related disorders. His research also uncovered the role that impairment of the tight junctions between intestinal enterocytes plays in the development of celiac disease.

During research designed to develop a cholera vaccine, Dr. Fasano uncovered a toxin, zonula occludens, which causes diarrhea by loosening the tight junctions and allowing intestinal permeability. Subsequently, he identified the protein zonulin, which controls this process. He has since established the role of zonulin in the pathogenesis of a number of autoimmune diseases, including celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, and certain cancers and diseases of the nervous system.

Eric Ripert is the chef and co-owner of the acclaimed New York restaurant Le Bernardin. Born in Antibes, France, Ripert moved to Andorra, a small country just over the Spanish border as a young child. His family instilled their own passion for food in the young Ripert, and at the age of 15 he left home to attend culinary school in Perpignan.

In the NYC 2006 Michelin Guide, Ripert’s Le Bernardin was one of four New York City restaurants to be awarded the maximum three Michelin stars for excellence in cuisine. Le Bernardin received four stars from The New York Times six consecutive times, making it the only restaurant to maintain an exquisite status for that length of time and never dropping a star. Ripert has since firmly established himself as one of New York’s and the world’s great chefs.

Chef Ripert has made several guest appearances on cooking-based television shows, including guest judge and assistant chef roles on Bravo TV’s Top Chef.  He has appeared in many episodes of A Cook’s Tour, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, and Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. In September 2009, Avec Eric, Ripert’s first TV show, debuted on PBS and ran for two seasons, earning two Daytime Emmy Awards. In 2021 and 2023 he published Vegetable Simple and Seafood Simple, which both became instant best sellers on the New York Times best seller list. In 2014, he released My Best: Eric Ripert . In 2016, he published his memoir: 32 Yolks: From My Mother’s Table to Working the Line , which also was a New York Times bestseller.

This fall, Ripert debuts his ninth book, Mindful Cooking. It draws on Ripert’s roots, meditation practice and time spent over the years in Tibetan and Korean monasteries, but comes to life through very tangible, everyday rituals—pausing before cooking to set intention, approaching ingredients with respect, cooking without distraction, and reframing mistakes as part of the process rather than something to react to.

He is also the Vice Chairman of the board of City Harvest, working to bring together New York’s top chefs and restaurateurs to raise funds and increase the quality and quantity of food donations to New York’s neediest. When not in the kitchen, Ripert enjoys good scotch and peace and quiet.

Emma Seppälä, PhD is a best-selling author, Yale lecturer, and international keynote speaker. She teaches executives at the Yale School of Management and is faculty director of the Yale School of Management’s Women’s Leadership Program.  A psychologist and research scientist by training, her expertise is the science of happiness, emotional intelligence, and social connection. Her best-selling books The Happiness Track (2016) and Sovereign (2024) have sold tens of thousands of copies and been translated into dozens of languages.

​Seppälä’s research has been published in top academic journals and featured in major news outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, NPR, and CBSNews. She speaks and consults internationally for Fortune 500 companies like Google and Facebook and contributes to Harvard Business Review, The Washington Post, Psychology Today, and TIME among others.

​A repeat guest on Good Morning America, she also spoke at TedX Sacramento and TEDx Hayward. Her research on breathing for military veterans with trauma was highlighted in the documentary Free the Mind. She is also featured in documentaries like The Altruism Revolution, What You Do Matters, and Bullied.

​Seppälä is the recipient of a number of research grants and service awards, including the James W. Lyons Award from Stanford University for founding Stanford’s first academic class on the psychology of happiness and initiating other well-being programs for Stanford students.

​She graduated from Yale (BA), Columbia (MA), and Stanford (Ph.D.). Originally from Paris, France, she is a native speaker of French, English, and German and conversant in Spanish and Mandarin Chinese.

Susan Whitfield-Gabrieli, PhD is an American scientist, psychologist/neuroscientist, academic and researcher. She is a professor of psychology, the Founding Director of the Biomedical Imaging Center at Northeastern University, Researcher in the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School and a Research Affiliate of McGovern Institute for Brain Research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her research focuses on the working of the human brain, its development from childhood through adult maturity, the brain’s working in neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders, and the translation of neuroscience knowledge into treatments. She is involved in the development of neuroimaging analysis methods and software packages including CONN, REX, and ART.

Marketa M. Wills, M.D., M.B.A., FAPA, is the CEO/Medical Director of the American Psychiatric Association (APA), becoming the organization’s eighth CEO—and its first Black American and first woman in the role—on June 1, 2024. She leads the 180-year-old professional society with a focus on advancing equitable, high quality, and patient centered mental health care.

Prior to joining APA, Dr. Wills served as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer for Johns Hopkins Health Plans (JHHP), where she led clinical strategy and operations across Pharmacy, Medical Management, Care Management, and Quality Improvement. Her leadership helped drive improved outcomes and cost-effective care for health plan members.

Her career spans roles at McKinsey & Company, Memorial Hermann Hospital System and WellCare Health Plans where she has led efforts around strategy & operations, physician affairs, population health and clinical quality.

She is the co-author of a groundbreaking book entitled “Understanding Mental Illness” which is a practical guide written to educate the public about common mental health and substance use conditions and how to get needed help.

Dr. Wills earned her medical degree from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and completed a residency in adult psychiatry at Harvard’s Massachusetts General Hospital/McLean Hospital program, serving as chief resident in her last year. She also has a master’s in business administration from The Wharton School.

Outside of work, she enjoys fitness, traveling, the arts, and engaging in community services. She is a certified yoga teacher and dedicated meditator.

ADDITIONAL ACCREDITATION INFORMATION:

NURSE PRACTITIONERS and REGISTERED NURSES

Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 25.75 ANCC contact hours.
PSYCHOLOGISTS

Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
SOCIAL WORKERS

As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Harvard Medical School is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 25.75 general continuing education credits.
RISK MANAGEMENT

This activity meets the criteria of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine for 3.00 credits of Risk Management Study. This includes:

• 2.00 credits of Medical Marijuana Training

Please check your individual state licensing board requirements before claiming these credits.
 

PHYSICIAN ASSISTANTS

The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) states that AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are acceptable for continuing medical education requirements for recertification. We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure.
CANADIAN ACCREDITATION

The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada recognizes conferences and workshops held outside of Canada that are developed by a university, academy, hospital, specialty society or college as accredited group learning activities.
EUROPEAN ACCREDITATION

The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialties (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found here: https://www.uems.eu/areas-of-expertise/cme-cpd/eaccme
ABMS/ACGME COMPETENCIES

This course is designed to meet the following American Board of Medical Specialties and Accreditation Council of Graduate Medical Education competencies:

• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• Medical Knowledge

IOM COMPETENCIES

This course is designed to meet the following Institute of Medicine competencies:

• Provide Patient-Centered Care
• Employ Evidence-Based Practice

Questions? Please contact Jocelyn Meek at jmeek@mgb.org for further information.