<p>The sociological literature on pain and the body largely emphasizes the social and cultural dynamics of suffering. Within this realm, the medical institution is often paramount in regulating how pain is understood and the responses that are appropriate in managing pain. Less is known about other forms of healthcare that treat pain, namely Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). While most research explains the overall &ldquo;who&rdquo; of the population of CAM users, few studies address the &ldquo;why&rdquo; and the overall effects of using a nonconventional system of medicine. </p><p> This research is aimed at discerning health beliefs and behaviors that are associated with engaging with a nonconventional system of healthcare and how treatment-seeking differs between patients choosing (CAM) and those choosing conventional medicine. Additionally, this study traces the trajectory of patients&rsquo; treatment-seeking behavior and explores whether nonconventional treatment changes outlooks on medicine and other health-related beliefs and behaviors. </p><p> A mixed method design was used to explore whether CAM users (compared with conventional medicine users) are more likely to possess beliefs associated with CAM. A survey-questionnaire was first distributed to pain patients (n=98) in two health office locations: pain management and acupuncture. Since little is known about CAM users&rsquo; decision-making processes, qualitative interviews (n=20) were conducted with people using acupuncture to elaborate on the survey results. </p><p> Statistically significant differences were found among pain management and acupuncture users on measures of proactivity, medication use, and patient-centered care. Additionally, qualitative findings showed that most acupuncture users were initially skeptical of this nonconventional treatment and gradually grew to use it for ailments beyond pain. At the same time, they grew to value the time and intimacy that was shared with their acupuncturist, who often engaged them in holistic approaches to health. The findings suggest strong discontent and resistance to conventional forms of treatment, which were found to be non-validating of pain experiences of patients and their desires to find non-pharmaceutical solutions for pain. This research proposes that CAM patients are demonstrating their ability to make choices on their own behalf without the approval of traditional medical experts and suggests implications for this new autonomy. </p>

<p> This study tested the effects of hypnosis for injection anxiety, medication side-effects from injectable medications, and general pain with patients who have MS. This seven- to nine-week hypnotic protocol was implemented based on the Palsson hypnosis protocol for Irritable Bowel Syndrome (2006). </p><p> The subjects were randomly assigned to receive in-person hypnosis in addition to listening to a self-hypnosis CD at home five days per week (N=13), or to a standard care group where they received no additional intervention for seven to nine weeks (N=14). The standard care group could listen to a self-hypnosis CD at home five days per week with no in-person treatment. </p><p> An additional goal of this randomized control trial was to teach patients to practice self-hypnosis to improve disease self-management and self-efficacy. </p><p> Paired t-tests were conducted from baseline to Time 3 in both groups to assess the significance of changes in the mean scores over time. The experimental group did not yield statistically significant results over time from baseline to Time 3 in medication side-effects or pain. However, the results did indicate a marginally significant (p=.09) decrease in injection anxiety. In addition, the experimental group showed statistically significant improvement in self-efficacy over time (p=.025), compared with the control group. The latter did not demonstrate any changes in self-efficacy. As expected, the control group did not show any statistically significant changes in their scores from baseline to Time 3 in injection anxiety, medication side-effects, or pain.</p>

<p> The Feldenkrais Method generates a range of healthful or salutogenic outcomes, yet its contribution to the field of mind-body medicine (MBM) remains largely unexamined. The Feldenkrais Method is a form of somatic education offering both practices and theoretical perspectives for an integrated mind-body approach. Research shows that the Feldenkrais Method produces outcomes on a range of functional, psychophysical, and psychosocial measures. This thesis argues that the Feldenkrais Method is an awareness practice of value for mind-body and integrative approaches to health. </p><p> Possible mechanisms and dynamics of action of the Feldenkrais Method are presented. This thesis proposes that non- or preconscious intentionality and "know-how" can be an important aspect of healthy behavior. Somatics practices and somatic awareness can play an important role in creating an intentional arc toward health. This study supports the importance of research into the Feldenkrais Method in relation to MBM and health.</p>

<p> This dissertation examines the processes of healing and transformation experienced by persons in the Cuban American, white, middle class Orisha worship community in Miami, FL, focusing on all the areas in which healing can take place. Orisha worship uses a holistic approach to health, in which physical, mental and spiritual illnesses may be healed. In the process of healing, persons embody the discourse of mastery and enslavement and the social processes of this Orisha worship community, via religious rituals, and exist in relation to Orishas. My research question focuses on how people in the Orisha worship community of Miami who are ill seek embodied healing and advice from orishas who are not ill and have the power to heal them. My data was gathered using questionnaires for direct interviews, and observations during religious rituals including ceremonies (both public and private), drummings and <i>Ocha </i> birthday parties. I also draw on my personal experiences and initiation onto the Orisha worship community. My overall findings indicate that there are a variety of modalities of healing in Orisha worship, each with the aim of manipulating <i>ashe,</i> the divine force in Orisha worship. People take an active role in changing their illnesses by performing <i> ebos;</i> or by becoming initiated in Orisha worship through receiving <i> collares, guerreros</i> or making <i>Ocha;</i> or via the healing and transformative effects of spirit possession. People are agents of change that seek to ameliorate their symptomology by invoking and employing the spiritual world. My research contributes to the Anthropological literature on embodiment, personhood and healing.</p>

<p> The present mixed method study examined the impacts of brief mindfulness training on cultivation of mindfulness traits, physical and emotional well-being, and relationship quality. Twenty-nine graduate students were organized into a control (n = 14) and a treatment (n = 15) group. All participants completed pre/post measures of their mindfulness competencies, physical and emotional well-being, and relationship quality. The treatment group participated in a 4-week mindfulness training workshop. The control group exhibited no significant changes over the study period. The treatment group exhibited significant improvement of self-reported mindfulness competencies and improved emotional and physical well-being and relationship quality. The results of the present study are encouraging, emphasizing the value of brief training designs for cultivating mindful awareness. Continued practice and research in this area is expected to introduce more and more people to the benefits of mindfulness, enabling them to experience the benefits of more personally attuned and aware living. </p>

<p> Clinicians working in community mental health clinics are at high risk for burnout. Burnout is a problem involving emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and reduced personal accomplishment. Reiki is a holistic biofield energy therapy beneficial for reducing stress. The purpose of this study was to determine if 30-minutes of healing touch could reduce burnout in community mental health clinicians. This quantitative study utilized a cross-over design to explore the efficacy of Reiki versus sham-Reiki, a pseudo treatment designed to mimic true Reiki, as a means to reduce symptoms of burnout in community mental health clinicians. The Maslach Burnout Inventory - Human Services Survey and several other measures were administered before and after the intervention phases throughout the study. The results suggest that hands-on interventions are beneficial in reducing stress for community mental health clinicians and that Reiki has a positive effect greater than relaxing touch alone. The findings show that Reiki reduces burnout in community mental health clinicians. </p>

Seventeen Cree anti-diabetic medicinal plant were investigated for their capacity to cause adverse effects when used as alternative or complementary medicine. Two aspects of safety were studied using their extracts: the ability to affect the contraction rate of neonatal rat cardiomyocytes in vitro to determine if the plants can influence the human heart rate, and the ability to interfere with drug metabolism by inhibiting the cytochrome P450 enzymes in vitro. The results suggest that several Cree plants may cause a harmful effect through different mechanisms. The extracts ofW2, W4, W5, and W9 did not affect the contraction rate of cardiomyocytes; however W9 extract was cardiotoxic at 10 mug/mL. Extracts of AD01, AD07, W2, and W4 had moderate or strong inhibitory potency towards the CYP isoforms involved in metabolizing common anti-diabetic drugs. Furthermore, AD02 extract was identified as a possible CYP3A4 mechanism-based inhibitor. Overall, the results suggest that several of the plant species can cause adverse events when used by diabetic patients.

<p>Older adults living in long-term care experience high rates of chronic pain. Concerns with pharmacologic management have spurred alternative approaches. This study examined a nurse led complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) intervention, aromatherapy hand massage. In this three group randomized control design, 118 older adult participants with chronic pain living in long-term care facilities received either eight sessions of aromatherapy hand massage, hand massage without aromatherapy or nurse presence visits administered by the nurse investigator. Chronic pain was measured before and after the intervention using the Geriatric Multidimensional Pain and Illness Inventory (GMPI) an instrument with three subscales Pain and Suffering, Life Interference and Emotional Distress and the Iowa Pain Thermometer (IPT) a pain intensity measure. Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) and repeated measures analysis of variance for mixed design were used to test the hypothesis and answer the research questions. Group membership was found to have a significant effect on the GMPI Pain and Suffering <i>F</i>(2, 110) = 5.807,<i> p</i> = .004, &eta;_p² = .096. In addition, the change in IPT scores differed within groups over time, <i>F</i>(2, 110) = 4.293, <i>p</i> = .016, &eta;_p² = .072. The results indicate aromatherapy hand massage or hand massage without aromatherapy significantly decrease chronic pain intensity compared to nurse presence visits in older adults with chronic pain. This safe, simple, but effective intervention could be taught to caregivers to improve chronic pain management in this population. </p>

<p> Chronic over-activity of the body's endocrine stress response system is detrimental to overall health and, over time, may have a negative impact on the structure and function of the hippocampus, a key brain area involved in episodic memory consolidation. Yoga is becoming an increasingly popular mind-body therapy used to reduce and prevent the harmful effects of stress on the body. This review presents a summary of the research investigating yoga as a therapeutic intervention to reduce both perceived and physiological stress in healthy adults. Studies looking at the effects of yoga on hippocampal-dependent memory function in children, adults, and elderly populations were also reviewed. Research investigating the stress-reducing effects of yoga has indicated that yoga may hold therapeutic value in reducing both perceived and physiological stress in healthy populations. In children, yoga has been shown to improve spatial, but not verbal, memory. In adults and elderly individuals, studies indicate improvements in both short and long-term verbal recall following yoga intervention. Elderly individuals also showed increased hippocampal volume following long-term yoga practice. Due to the shortage of empirical evidence, along with several shared methodological limitations, further investigation is still needed to fully determine the efficacy of yoga as a beneficial mind-body therapy for decreasing both perceived and physiological stress-response, improving memory, and preventing stress and age-related hippocampal volume loss.</p>

<p> The purpose of this qualitative descriptive research study was to delineate the perspectives held by medical experts on the meaning and significance of imagery. Thirteen doctorate-prepared experts, including clinicians, educators, and researchers, were surveyed via email and asked basic demographic information and their responses to five open-ended questions. The questions were designed to elicit the experts' perceptions regarding their definition of imagery; the significance of imagery to health; the role of imagery in the experts' professional practices; and the potential relationships that exist between imagery and psychoneuroimmunology (PNI), and imagery and the learning domains. </p><p> Literature from systems theory provided the conceptual framework for this study and a philosophical approach influenced the research design. The study utilized a manual content analysis to identify themes that best described the experts' perspectives. The following three themes emerged: (a) Imagery is a complex construct comprised of both structural and process components which are interconnected via a complex communication system, which responds, directs, and transmits the flow of information within the individual and also between the individual and the environment. (b) The structural component of imagery is multisensorial, multifaceted, and it influences and is influenced by the learning and health domains resulting in the potential for both positive and adverse effects on health. (c) When imagery's process component is used and directed in a goal-oriented, purposeful, intention-driven way, desired outcomes can be achieved in the psychophysiological domains of health. </p><p> The purpose of seeking the experts' perspectives on the meaning and significance of imagery was to gain a better understanding of imagery's role in influencing health. Expanded perspectives were sought because health-risk behaviors are contributing to the rising prevalence of chronic disease in America, which in turn, supports a costly medical model of disease-management rather than one that promotes health. It was concluded that maximizing positive imagery could not only be a potential mechanism for addressing the issues related to chronic disease, but also an effective way to improve the health of the nation.</p>