Head-to-Toe Happiness

Using mind-body medicine to nurture all of you

by Claire Wheeler

Saving the World

Mind-body medicine can save the world!

Published on October 10, 2010 by Claire Wheeler, M.D., Ph.D. in Head-to-Toe Happiness

That's me on the left with other members of the Center's faculty after a day of demolishing a flood-damaged home in New Orleans

I'm exhilarated! I just returned from a week in Washington, D.C. working for the Center for Mind-Body Medicine. Every year, we train hundreds of health care professionals from all over the world in the science and practice of mind-body medicine. Our trainees come from all walks of life, from Reiki masters to medical students to deans of medical schools. It's so incredibly rewarding to part of the solution to many of the problems that exist in the "old" way of practicing medicine.

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine is the go-to organization for any kind of caring professional to learn how to either start a practice that's all about MBM or to integrate this philosophy into an existing practice. Ten years ago, armed with a few years of experience as an Emergency Medicine doctor and Ph.D. in Psychology, I still didn't know how to work with people in a way that I believed in - a way that I knew would guide people to real healing and health. I found that training at the Center.

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In addition to our educational programs, we have several international relief efforts going on right now. We worked with NYC firemen after 9/11 and mental health care workers in New Orleans after Katrina hit. There's now a new organization named The Mind-Body Center of Louisiana, founded by several of our graduates, that provides extensive care to people affected by the flood and, more recently, the oil spill.

We have worked extensively in the Middle East, bringing trauma relief to Israelis and Palestinians alike. You can see our founder and director, Dr. Jim Gordon, in action in a new documentary on his blog. And now, most recently, we're going to Haiti. Our first training for the terribly under-resourced mental health workers in Haiti will begin in December of this year.

I'm so proud to be part of this organization. It's a beautiful example of how personal healing can ripple out to social, community, and global healing. Person by person, heart by heart, I believe that we all can be part of saving the world!