A movement has begun that will benefit patients, mental health professionals and medical clinicians. It began with recognition that most people with significant stress and mental health concerns are seen by medical clinicians, not mental health professionals. Compounding the problem, most medical clinicians are not formally trained to detect the underlying issues. The result is frustration for everyone involved.
In response to this, Drs. Howard Schubiner and John Stracks organized a conference for 50 experts in mind-body medicine in Ann Arbor, Michigan in March, 2009. Clinicians from all over the U.S. and Europe representing a broad spectrum of health care specialties attended. After the meeting, what was most striking was how we had come to such similar conclusions about the issues our patients struggle with. We felt tremendous enthusiasm for educating mental health professionals (MHPs) and medical clinicians about stress-related illness and several of us soon began organizing a second conference to begin that work.
That conference, When Stress Causes Pain, is now accepting registration (with a limit of 200) and will be held Saturday – Sunday, March 27-28, 2010 at UCLA in Los Angeles, California, USA. The speakers will provide a variety of perspectives that will:
- Enable MHPs to manage patients whose primary concerns are physical symptoms and
- Enable medical clinicians to recognize and manage (or refer) stresses that present as physical symptoms
The conference is a remarkable opportunity to begin closing a huge blind spot in the health care system and to turn frustrating/frustrated patients into rewarding success stories. Interested non-professionals are also welcome to register and I look forward to seeing many of my readers there.
Tags: Lectures
