Clinical Meditation

Depression, anxiety, stress and other mental health concerns involve complex sets of biological and chemical responses that include the brain. What we know is that some areas of the brain will overreact or underreact causing us to lose emotional footing. We also know that thoughts and emotions influence the physical body (blushing is an example). Meditation has been shown to counteract some of the adverse biological and cognitive reactions to depression, anxiety, stress, hypertension, chronic pain and ADHD.

Meditation is a state of heightened awareness and inner peace that brings about mental and physical benefits. Meditation has been shown to reverse the body's “flight or flight” response to stress and invoke deep relaxation.

Clinical meditation is secular. It is based on breathing exercises, the body scan, guided imagery and other mindfulness exercises.

Meditation is contraindicated for those who struggle with psychosis, Dissociative Identity Disorder, PTSD (Simple & Complex) when in initial crisis stage, and others who have difficulty with reality testing and grounding themselves.

Stress-Reduction

Various studies have shown that stress impacts immune functioning through links between the central nervous system and the immune system. These immune-nervous system connections allow stress to influence resistance or susceptibility to infectious or autoimmune diseases and possibly speed the metastasis of cancer. Stress also impacts immune functioning because both cortisol and the catecholamines can suppress the immune system. I utilize individual and group meditation, mindfulness (living in the power of Now) training, yoga stretches (physical meditation), body scans and guided-imagery in my treatment.

A Review of the Research on the Benefits of Meditation
www.mindandlife.org
www.umassmed.edu/cfm/

Reference Pages:

• Your Biology
• Clinical Meditation

Integrative Medicine

Integrative Medicine is based on a partnership between counselor, patient, and doctor within which the best of conventional, complementary and alternative medicinal practices can be explored in a whole person approach to health, healing and wellness.

The complementary practices that I offer include: clinical meditation, mindfulness-based stress reduction programs, and also prayer.

Mindful living is incorporating mindful practices (meditation & prayer) into your daily life. Doing so keeps you living in the 'now', not in the 'there and then' - future or past. Effective living requires us to do some reflection and some planning, but living at either extreme can lead to depressive or anxious symptoms. Being present to life as it unfolds moment-by-moment is living.

Mindfulness practices are techniques learned to increase inner strength and resilience. Prayer combines the benefits of meditation and mindfulness with a spiritual focus on the benevolence of G_d.

Prayer

Numerous modern scientific (double blind placebo controlled) studies have demonstrated the value and benefits of prayer therapy to not only the person praying but also the person being prayed for even if they are unaware of that intent or action. Improved healing responses, decreased hospitalization stays, medication and complications as well as improved survival rates are among the variables that have been effected for persons prayed for.

Participation in a spiritual practice or similar involvement has been shown to relate positively with increased life expectancy, lower disease rates, higher quality of life and numerous other parameters.

Faith-based patients can utilize a variety of therapeutic prayer modalities. They include: silent waiting prayer, contemplative prayer, praying scriptures, lectio divina, hitbodedut, and hesychasm. These forms of prayer are the heritage of Christians from it's monastic history.

Workshops

Reference Pages:

• Lectio Divina (Praying the Scriptures)