Reducing Stress, Improving Health

Enhance your ability to cope with job or family-related stress.

Reduce common physical symptoms and improve the quality of your life.

Learn skills for dealing with anxiety, depression, and other psychological symptoms.

Experience greater joy and enthusiasm for life.

At Duke Integrative Medicine, we understand that stress has a powerful impact on physical and emotional health. In fact, a 60 to 90 percent of all doctors’ visits are associated with stress. That’s why stress reduction and relaxation practices—especially mindfulness—are a core aspect of the health care we provide.

Our expert providers include health psychologists, psychotherapists, physicians, integrative health coaches, nurses, acupuncturists, nutritionists, exercise specialists, massage therapists, and yoga therapists. Working together as a team, they can help you develop effective skills to manage stress and evaluate the pros and cons of treatments and tests associated with stress-related conditions including:

ADD/ADHD
Anger
Anxiety, panic, or worry
Chronic pain
Daily life stress
Depression
Fatigue
Gastrointestinal disorders
Headaches
High blood pressure
Insomnia or sleep problems
Job or family stress
Life imbalance
Personal growth and development
Serious illness
Weight management and overeating

The Evidence

Scientific research has demonstrated the powerful impact of stress reduction on physical and emotional health. Here is a sample:

Mindfulness meditation, relaxation training, and cognitive-behavioral therapy can significantly decrease anxiety, depression, anger, and worry. (1-2, 11)

Brief—but regular—practice of relaxation techniques can improve stress and negative mood states, which are often linked to overeating and weight gain. (3-4)

Mindfulness meditation and other relaxation techniques have been shown to reduce the pain and related stress commonly associated with fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, and chronic lower back pain. (7)

Hypnosis and guided imagery can be powerful treatments for stress related gastrointenstinal disorders including irritable bowel syndrome. (5)

A personalized, integrative approach to lifestyle modification, including stress reduction and integrative health coaching, can reduce cardiovascular disease risk. (6)

Mindfulness-based approaches to managing overeating improve binge eating frequency and metabolism (insulin resistance), independent of weight changes (4, 9, 10)

Choose Your Experience

Select from one of these services to support you throughout your life.

Individual Services
Enjoy a personalized mind-body session (guided imagery, hypnosis--with a personalized CD for your ongoing use--or relaxation training), an acupuncture session, massage, individual yoga therapy, or one of our many experiential classes to enhance your overall health.

Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) Course
This proven method of using meditation and yoga to cultivate awareness and reduce stress is taught in an eight week/eight session course by trained experts. In addition to the sessions, you receive a workbook containing handouts, reading lists, support materials, and a set of guided meditation and yoga practices on CD.

Day Packages
Choose one or two therapeutic treatments, participate in a class, enjoy lunch, and relax in our healing environment including mediation spaces, sauna, whirlpool, steam room, walking labyrinth, and library.

Membership
We offer customized health experiences tailored to your specific needs.

The Health Immersion Membership
This in-depth three day experience--working closely with our integrative physicians and practitioners, integrative health coaches, and teachers--is the optimal way to jump-start your journey to increased joy in your life.

Annual Membership
Over the course of a year, partner with a personal integrative health care team. We work with your caridologist and other providers and guide you through treatments that ensure you have the greatest opportunity to reduce stress and to obtain your optimal health.

(1) Complementary Health Practice Review, Mindfulness Research Update: 2008. Greeson, J.M., 2009: 14; 10

(2) Primary Care: Clinics in Office Practice, Stress and Health.> Larzelere, M.M. & Jones, G.N., 2008: 35;839-856.

(3) Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, Brief Meditation Training Can Improve Perceived Stress and Mood. Lane, J.D., Seskevich, J.E., & Pieper, C.F. , Jan-Feb 2007, 13(1), 38-44.

(4) Mindfulness-Based Approaches to Eating Disorders. Wolever, R.Q., & Best, J.L., 2009. In: Clinical Handbook of Mindfulness (F. Didonna, editor). Springer, NY.

(5) Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Psychosocial Aspects of Assessment and Treatment of Irritable Bowel Syndrome in Adults and Recurrent Abdominal Pain in Children. Blanchard, E. & Scharff, L., 2002, 70, 3, 725-738.

(6) Journal of General Internal Medicine, A Multidimensional Integrative Medicine Internvention to Improve Cardiovascular Risk. Edelman, D., et al., 2006:21;728-734.

(7) Holistic Nursing Practice, Meditation as an Intervention for Chronic Pain, Teixeira, M.E., 2008:22;225-234.

(8) Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine. Integrative Health Coaching may Improve Adherence to Medication and Lifestyle Recommendations in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes. Fikkan, J. et al.; May-June,2009; S144-S145.

(9) Oral abstract presented at the North American Research Conference on Complementary and Integrative Medicine, Edmonton, Canada. Bio-behavioral outcomes of a mindfulness-based intervention for binge eating disorder. Wolever, R.Q. et. al., May 2006.

(10) Mindfulness-based approaches to eating disorders. Kristeller, J. L. et al. (2006). In Baer, R. A. (Ed.), Mindfulness-Based Treatment Approaches: Clinician’s guide to Evidence Base and Applications (pp. 75-91). New York: Elsevier.

(11) Stress management at work. Quillian-Wolever, R.E. & Wolever, M.E. (2003). In Quick & Tetrick (Eds.), Handbook of Occupational Health Psychology (pp. 355-375). Washington, D.C.: American Psychological Association.