— From Mind and Body, October 7, 2001

Alternative Medicine Widely Practiced

Plagued since childhood with a rare respiratory illness, Vivian Davis of Coralville found herself troubled by negative and depressing thoughts as an adult. Her family physician suggested she contact Bev Klug, who facilitates the Mindfulness Meditation Program for Counseling and Health Promotions located in the University of Iowa Hospital's Family Care Center.

Worldwide, there are some 250 programs similar to UI's and the number is growing.

"Mindfulness meditation is the best thing I've ever done for myself," said Davis. Besides relieving her chronic negative thoughts and depression, she found the 8-week course improved her whole perspective on life. Davis completed the course in 1996, and continued with Klug's graduate course.

"I want people to know this isn't some far-out thing," Davis said. "They don't have to change their religious beliefs or anything like that. It's simply a shift in awareness."

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, stress and anxiety are two of the most common health complaints, impacting more than 20 million Americans a year. A number of studies show meditation is effective in treating them. According to one in the journal Supportive Care in Cancer, mindfulness meditation has long-term benefits for cancer patients as well. Participants had less anxiety, depression, anger, and fatigue. A six-month follow-up found the positive effects lasted if participants continued daily mindfulness practice. And patients benefited regardless of age, diagnosis, or the severity of their cancer.

"People with cancer use mindfulness meditation to manage the physical discomfort of surgery, chemotherapy and radiation as well as the psychological and emotional effects of living with a life-threatening or terminal illness," says Klug, who holds a master's degree in counseling from Ul and is a licensed marriage & family counselor as well as a massage therapist. She's been meditating for 10 years. After completing mindfulness meditation training at the University of Massachusetts, she continued with their intensive teacher development program.

Klug explains that Mindfulness Meditation helps people learn to use their internal resources to change their relationship to stress, chronic pain, or illness. It involves learning how to have moment-to-moment awareness of the present, instead of focusing on the past or the future. Awareness of the present enables people to respond rather than react to situations, while cultivating a sense of calm.

"We're discovering that good medicine is often a combination of Western and alternative practices, she says. "By using them together, a person's needs can be addressed more completely — physically, psychologically, emotionally and spiritually. The same is true for people with chronic pain, anxiety or other conditions.

"They may use Western medical treatments in conjunction with mindfulness to control their response to the condition, even though they may not have control over the condition itself. One of the wonderful things about the mindfulness is its universality in application to whatever we encounter in life. It's exciting that we're finding ways to integrate conventional medicine with mindfulness meditation and other so-called alternative medical therapies."

Benefits include a greater sense of control in managing life's ups-and-downs, an increased ability to concentrate, improved relationships, an ability to make choices with greater clarity and awareness, and enhanced health and well-being. Mindfulness can be used alone or as a complement to medical care. The program also helps people suffering from chronic pain, high blood pressure, headaches and sleep disturbances.

Klug's classes meet once a week for eight weeks. Due to popular response a second group was begun just last month. The two groups have separate schedules, one under the supervision of Klug, the other facilitated by her husband Chris Klug who's been trained in Mindfulness Meditation, holds master's degrees in philosophy and divinity, and is also the coordinator of grief support services for UI's hospice.

Both weekly sessions will run through October. The next eight-week program starts in January. After each session, participants practice what they've learned on a daily basis. Prior to a participant's first session, he or she has a consultation with the group facilitator.

Biofeedback, another therapy offered through UI's Counseling and Health Promotions, enables patients to control stress through imagery and relaxation techniques, says David Young, PhD, a biofeedback therapist at UI. Biofeedback is effective for conditions such as chronic pain, migraine and tension headaches, insomnia and hypertension.

UI Hospital's CAM Clinic

Like Harvard, Columbia and Stanford University hospitals, UI Hospital opened its Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM) Clinic three years ago.

Many patients visiting UI's CAM Clinic suffer from chronic pain or fatigue, fibromyalgia, cancer, headaches or pre-menstrual syndrome. As described by the clinic's director, Dr. Nicole Nisly, the clinic complements or integrates standard medical care with alternative treatments such as meditation, biofeedback, acupuncture, massage and nutritional and herbal interventions. A patient's case is presented to a group of Certified CAM Practitioners who recommend therapies to complement conventional medical care. Recommendations are discussed with the patient while physician follow-up ensures safety and effectiveness.

© 2009 Bill Asenjo

HOME