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The class is not currently being offered.
Additional classes may be offered later this year.
For more information, please contact Mark Schecter at (805) 995-2010
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| Spring 2004 Graduates Speak | | "I found great hope that can and will help me with my hypertension. I will continue using what I've learned." ~ AK | | I really feel this program has given me the realization that I can heal myself." ~ GM | | "Worrying less. A big change is the increased ability to deal with insomnia and anxiety." ~ MH | | "My pain level has definitely improved. I'm taking less medication." ~ SH |
This Stress Reduction and Relaxation Training class is modeled after the internationally acclaimed program from the University of Massachusetts Medical Center. The heart of this innovative eight week program is an opportunity to train systematically and intesively in mindfulness practices. Instruction is given in a variety of mind-body awareness exercises. Through these practices, stress, pain and illness come to be seen as aspects of life that can be faced and worked with in ways that increase internal stability, calmness and clarity.
Research has shown mindfulness can provide lasting physical and psychological symptom reduction, as well as positive changes in perception, attitude and behavior. As this training employs a a unique and practical approach, we ask that you be willing to commit yourself to practicing with a cassette tape for approximately 30-45 minutes each day, six days a week, for the duration of the eight week session.
The class meets once a week for two and a half hours for eight weeks. Also included is an all-day Saturday session during the sixth week. The program is offered three times a year: Winter, Spring and Fall.
Nurses: The California Board of Nurses has agreed to let you receive 30 contact hours for completing the eight-week program (California BRN Provider #13220).
Our Textbook:
 
Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body & Mind to Face Stress, Pain & Illness
by Jon Kabat-Zinn, Ph.D.
(Anyone can order this book directly from Barnes and Noble
by clicking on the cover or book title above!)
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- At the University of Massachusetts Medical Center, participants (over 16,000 patients referred by their doctors over the last 20 years for a wide range of disorders) report an average 34.5% reduction in medical symptoms as reported on a medical symptom checklist.
- At U Mass., participants report an average 39.7% reduction in psychological distress including sharp reductions in anxiety, depression and hostility.
- About 2/3 of all chronic pain patients at U Mass. report "moderate to great improvement" in their conditions. And, improvements are shown to be maintained at four-year follow-up studies for most participants!
- In a study, published in the Journal of Behavioural Medicine in 1985, 61% of chronic pain patients taking the program reported at least a 50% reduction on a apain rating index and 44% reported reduced drug dosages by the end of the program.
- In a study, published in the 1992 American Journal of Psychiatry, participants with anxiety and panic disorders showed dramatic improvement: they achieved over a 50% average decrease on the Beck Anxiety Inventory and over a 40% average decrease on the Beck Depression Inventory. These results were maintained at a follow-up study three years after program completion!
- Heart patients report a 45% reduction of medical symptoms on a medical symptom checklist, and a 55% reduction in psychological distress at U Mass. (In Octover of 1995 the US Department of Health and Human Services Agency for Health Care Policy and Research released guidelines recommending stress reduction training for people who have had heart attacks, cardiac surgery, heart failure, angina and other complications of heart disease.)
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