Integrative Wellness
Past Speakers
Spirituality and Medicine
Carl E. Flemister Annual Symposium on Mind/Body Medicine, Spirituality and Health
Past Speakers
Dr. Andrew Weil
The Art and Science of Self-care: Implications for Mind/Body Medicine
November 7, 2007
Andrew T. Weil, M.D. is Director of the Program in Integrative Medicine of the College of Medicine, University of Arizona, where he also holds the Lovell-Jones Endowed Chair in Integrative Rheumatology and is Clinical Professor of Medicine and Professor of Public Health. The Program is the leading effort in the world to develop a comprehensive curriculum in integrative medicine. Graduates serve as directors of integrative medicine programs around the United States, and through its Associate Fellowship, the Program is now training doctors and nurse practitioners around the world.
He writes a monthly newsletter, Dr. Andrew Weil's Self Healing and a monthly column for Prevention magazine, maintains a popular website, Dr. Weil.com (www.drweil.com) and appears regularly on programs featured on PBS, Larry King Live and many other news, talk and cable network programs. He has been featured on the cover of Time Magazine several times in recent years.
Dr. Weil addressed the art and science of self-care and offered a vision of medicine as integrative medicine - healing-oriented medicine that takes into account the whole person (body, mind and spirit), including all aspects of lifestyle, emphasizing the therapeutic relationship and utilizing all appropriate therapies, both conventional and alternative.
Dr. Mehmet C. Oz
The New Medicine: Alternative Therapies and Their Implications to Health Care
October 19, 2006
Dr. Oz is the professor and vice-chairman of surgery, Columbia University, medical director of the Integrated Medicine Center and director of the Heart Institute, Columbia/Presbyterian Medical Center, New York City.
Dr. Oz explained the broad goals of integrative medicine, citing examples from his clinical experience and the health care policy arena. He presented scientific evidence for augmenting conventional Western medical practices with alternative therapies and examined how these approaches play a vital role in solving chronic problems in today's "acute illness care" system and their positive impact on post surgical healing.
Dr. Harold G. Koenig
Spirituality and Health: History, Research and Clinical Application
October 20, 2005
Harold Koenig, MD is co-director of the Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, and Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences as well as Associate Professor of Medicine at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina.
Dr. Koenig examined the historical relationship between religion and medicine and religious involvement and mental health, immune functioning, cardiovascular functioning and survival.
Dr. Christina Puchalski
Spirituality and Health: Implications for Clinical Practice
December 2, 2004
Dr. Puchalski is the founder and director of The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health and Associate Professor of Medicine and Health Care Services at The George Washington University School of Medicine, Washington, D. C.
Dr. Puchalski spoke of the importance of taking a "spiritual inventory" as a component of the overall medical history in an effort to help providers understand the role of faith in patients' lives.
Dr. Herbert Benson
The Power of Belief: The Science of Spirituality and Healing in Medicine
October 23, 2003
Dr. Benson is the founding president of the Mind/Body Medical Institute and the Mind/Body Medical Institute Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School.
Dr. Benson presented the power and biology of belief, along with findings on how the relaxation response can influence health.
