Clinic examines mind-body connection
 
 
Global Calgary:-   A new clinic focussing on the connection between mind and body has opened in Calgary.

The Calgary health region says the new facility is an innovative approach to unlocking a patient's natural ability to heal.

Maggie MacPhee is one of the people who's been helped by clinic co-director Dr. Don Bakal.

"I'd spent 4 or 5 years laying in bed, taking medication, the kids took me once in a while in a wheelchair to the mall and wheeled me around...I was really out of it, I had a lot of pain but I didn't know how to control it, or what was causing it," says MacPhee.

After several months of meetings with a doctor and a psychologist,  she was able to get to the root cause of her symptoms.

In her case, a troubled past was causing her medical condition to worsen.

"I was so angry, and (Dr. Bakal) would say anger and hate only destroy you, they don't destroy the person you're angry at. And, that's what I was full of...anger," she adds.

Dr. Bakal says for many who come to the clinic, a large part of their sickness really is all in their heads.  {??? RM}

"Many of them feel they've dealt with this event in the past, as they say 'moved on'.  They've moved on mentally, but many of them, at the bodily level,  have not moved on and this emotional experience, very negative experience, is still influencing how they function on a day-to-day basis," says Dr. Bakal, the clinic psychologist.  {described in some circles as cellular level memory - hence the use of vibrational energy healing by some -RM}

He believes mind-body information can restore health, but he says in today's society, we often ignore those important messages.

The clinic's team helps patients come off medications, so they can start the healing process.

"Most of the medications are for anxiety, sleep, pain...and yet none of these medications is going to adjust the way that person's body is shaping their very thoughts or feelings or their symptom pattern," he adds.

Now, Maggie only takes one anti-depressant daily.

She says learning how to deal with pain, helped her through a recent bout of breast cancer.

"This is my life now, I made up my mind when I had cancer that every day is going to be a good day for me, and it is , if you let it," she says.

The clinic deals with symptoms that defy explanation and have failed conventional medical treatment. They include depression, arthritis, back pain, chest pain, chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal symptoms, migraine, insomnia and tinnitus, or ringing in the ears.

For more information on the clinic, you can visit calgaryhealthregion.ca/cmbm

 

Journey to Wellness

The Clinic works with the mind-body’s natural potential for healing �?it assumes that the human has the potential to unlock or release internal healing processes through somatic awareness. Somatic awareness therapy involves learning to teach patients total awareness of themselves, with bodily sensations at the core. The bodily self is primary and occupies a place in consciousness that equals awareness of thoughts, feelings and behaviors. Somatic awareness has the advantage of providing patients with experiential access to healing processes within themselves. The treatment protocol is patient-centered, highly individualized, and affirms centrality of patient experiences with his/her bodily symptoms. Treatment focuses on exploring the patient’s explanatory frameworks and their ideas, fears and expectations about their illness.
 

Mind-Body Vocabulary

Individuals are encouraged to re-think their illness and health as part of their personal bodily experience.  Our goal is to help individuals find their bodies through somatic awareness.   Psychobiological means the union of mind, brain and body.

Individuals with chronic physical symptoms feel that the symptoms are foreign to their overall being - they describe the conditions as “it�?as in “I wish it would go away�?or “I wish it would end.�?In our mind-body world, “it�?is part of who we are and must be experienced as such. The self-talk and relationship that takes place with their body needs to change if they are to successfully manage the condition.

 

Self- Soothing

Humans have an inner need for soothing. Self-soothing is an essential component of our approach.  Self-soothing is gaining in popularity in alternative medicine and spa settings throughout the world. Austrian Moor Mud has been used for over 3000 years to treat a wide range of ailments. The mud consists of medicinal herbs, plants and flowers, formed by glacial waters. It is believed to possess a form of healing bioenergy The skin is a powerful way to access soothing and healing. The soothing benefits of spa therapy can be re-produced by the mind.

Individuals are encouraged to generate self-soothing through conscious somatic awareness. Somatic awareness is a familiar inner experience and available through normal consciousness.

We use a limited set of “tools�?to increase somatic awareness and self-soothing experiences. Autogenic relaxation, biofeedback and gentle breathing are utilized to counter symptom processes and increasing healing sensations. Individuals are also encouraged to utilize other treatment resources to maximize the benefits, including massage, Yoga, meditation, Shiatsu and moor mud.
  

Medication Withdrawal

We have taken a unique stand on the use of or, more accurately, the non-use of medications. Participants are required to minimize, if not discontinue the use of antidepressants, pain killers, sleeping pills, and medications for anxiety. They may be admitted to hospital for an inpatient drug withdrawal protocol that is accomplished over a 4-6 week period.

Why are analgesic/psychotropic medications an issue? The consistent use of medications to relax, improve mood, induce sleep and ease pain undermines an individual’s ability to gain self-control of health. Individuals who rely on medication to sleep, to settle, or to control chronic pain can become frantic if the medication is not at hand. They will not trust themselves to gain control over the symptoms and their health. Individuals have the power and inner resources, through somatic awareness, to create the necessary healing experiences without medication.

The second difficulty with medications occurs with long term use. Many individuals who use analgesic, sleep and antidepressant medications continue to use the medications in spite of the continuation of their symptoms. Long term use of analgesic and mood medication can produce a form of drug-induced sensitization. This change leads to drug dependence, suffering and worsening of the underlying condition. Long term use of these drugs can increase pain and insomnia and lead to depression, panic, and anxiety. Experientially, the individual may recognize the presence of sensitization in terms of a worsening of symptoms prior to the usual dosing times.

Cross-sensitization also develops such that the body’s dependency on one drug leads to dependency on other drugs. Subjectively, the individual exhibits a “fear of suffering�?and the feeling of “needing something.�?/FONT>

The Clinic provides patients with a drug withdrawal protocol and guidance in self-regulation that when successful, results in the reduction of symptoms and restoration of health.
 

Inner Pharmacy

The guiding philosophy is that the human body has the potential to heal through the activation of an “internal pharmacy.�?When healthy, our bodies produce analgesics, anti-depressant drugs, anti-anxiety drugs, sleep-inducing drugs, immune system strengthening drugs, gastrointestinal normalizing drugs. We can awaken this inner pharmacy by paying attention to bodily sensations of well-being.

Acknowledgement of Feelings

The treatment model adheres to the notion that the body self is a marker for life experiences, especially experiences of an emotional nature. Patients with medically unexplained symptoms have often experienced trauma as a child and/or adult and need an opportunity to understand the link between the past and present day bodily sensations of tension, pain and suffering.

 

Somatic Awareness as Searchlight

Somatic awareness is the mind’s perception of the inner sensations of the body.

Somatic awareness provides access to the internal feelings and physiologic events that underlie symptoms.

The breath is possibly the most direct way to regulate bodily and related emotional experience. The mind-body response of relaxation has been used to improve the health of thousands of people who suffer from a wide range of conditions and/or symptoms caused or made worse by stress.

Individuals are encouraged to use somatic awareness as a guide as to what kinds of changes or adjustments need to be made in one’s relationship with oneself and with others. 
 

Spirituality

It is through consideration of the biological, psychological and spiritual dimensions of the whole person that healing and wellness will emerge. Healers in traditional societies have always interwoven healing and spiritual practices.

Personal spirituality is encouraged as a means of achieving inner peace, solace and harmony with the body.

The notion of spiritual is equivalent to an intense experience of mind-body harmony. Spiritual experiences are nourishing and can be evoked a number of ways, through prayer and religion as well as contemplation of great art and music.

Our aim is to respect and support the individual’s beliefs and choices, whatever they may be.

 

 

Wellness and Symptom Management Program

The Fibromyalgia Self-Healing Program

Wellness and Symptom Management Program

 The Wellness and Symptom Management Symptom Reduction Program is designed to improve quality of life for individuals who are experiencing stress-related physical symptoms and/or chronic illness. Stress and illness can affect every aspect of life, including; sleep, appetite, mood, decreased energy and decreased physical activity.

 This group program provides a mind-body understanding and tools to self-regulate symptoms and achieve feelings of wellness.  The program has the following specific objectives:     

The identification of bodily states and feelings that contribute to symptoms
The use of  body awareness strategies to achieve symptom control and feelings of  wellness
Understand the negative impact stress has on physical and emotional health
Less reliance on analgesic, mood, and sleep medications
Improved feelings of control, self-esteem and wellness   
 Elements of this program include: experiential practice of various Mind-Body techniques, identifying and reversing negative thought patterns, nutrition and mindful eating patterns, enhancing healthy sleep patterns, mild exercise and yoga stretching,.

 Symptoms and/or Conditions include: anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue, migraine, muscle tension, medication dependence, stress/worry.

 

The Fibromyalgia Self-Healing Program

The Fibromyalgia Self-Healing Program represents a new group protocol for the management of fibromyalgia.  Participants will learn to understand the origins of the illness as well mind-body strategies for managing the illness itself.  The group program will be operated by the Clinic for Mind-Body Medicine in partnership with the Department of Medicine

 Fibromyalgia is accompanied by significant pain, stress, disability, and life disruption.  Afflicted individuals suffer from a multitude of symptoms, including body extremity pain, headache, abdominal distress, as well as fatigue, insomnia, irritability, depression and anxiety.

 The goals of the Clinic for Mind-Body Medicine are to provide fibromyalgia sufferers the understanding and tools necessary to reduce the pain and suffering and regain a sense of self-control and well-being.

 

Participants will be introduced over the course of 8 sessions to topics and healing techniques dealing with:

  The mind-body origins of the condition

  Body sensitization following prolonged stress

  The impact of life emotions and trauma experiences

  Importance of healing through somatic awareness and the relaxation response

  Recovery of restorative sleep patterns

  Symptom control and wellness without medications

For more information contact:

Malynne Steiert RN, Program coordinator/facilitator, Telephone: 403-943-3896,    calgaryhealthregion.ca/cmbm/services.htm