CPN Guest Digest #210
Something for the weekend curated by Matt Erb:
Matt Erb is a US-based physiotherapist; Associate Clinical Director for The Center for Mind-Body Medicine, Washington DC; guest instructor for the University of Arizona Departments of Integrative Medicine, Psychiatry, and Family Medicine. Matt has a clinical practice with Simons Physical Therapy, Tucson Arizona, and is Founder of Embody Your Mind - focused on writing, teaching, and consulting in the areas of mind-body medicine, physiotherapy in mental health, and integrative health models. You can see more about Matt’s work here and can contact him at this email.
Science and racism share a history. See here and here for relevant discourse. If any CPN members have further information on how the evidence-based medicine (EBM) construct is informed by these dynamics, I am interested in gathering a more extensive compilation of resources on the topic. As noted in the second article, the point is not to disregard science, rather to call out the areas where it is limited and/or biased and continue to develop a broad range of approaches for what constitutes “evidence” that informs effective clinical care models and how sociocultural context applies.
Both individual and population-wide trauma and toxic stress is often under-addressed in physiotherapy and rehabilitation. PACEs Connection offers a regular Roundup of news and research into the topic of both Adverse and Positive Childhood Experiences in the larger context of stress and trauma biology/research and public health perspectives. You can join for free and sign-up for their newsletters.
As a working example of efforts to understand and support community and population-wide models of resilience, the Center for Community Resilience has some resources as well as potentially useful graphics here.
Burnout - are we solving the right problem? This article covers the topic in a way that points out that burnout must not be presented as a personal failing. From my lens there is a mutually supportive both/and approach - as we work towards awareness and change at the societal level, how does individualized support and guidance assist in how professionals interact with and navigate the upstream determinants of burnout. What messages do we convey? I tend to frame this as “self-care held in (a much larger) context” - meaning that a failure to emphasize root causes and identify ways to actively contribute to the transformation of these challenges, even as we support at the individual level of experience, is an often unaddressed question/challenge. From my (limited) lens, this does not need to negatively reinforce individualism. The complexity that informs moral agency in mind-body integrated practice must be held in attention when supporting this topic.
Does anyone in CPN has experience with the “Presencing Institute” and “Theory U” found here? If so, does anyone have a critique as to how these efforts fit the sociological lens on addressing the challenges that physiotherapy and rehabilitation in general are facing? As an aside, I have found Kelvy Bird’s creative graphics and art (go here; these are built around some of Theory-U’s ideas for moving society forward in these times) of interest.
Reconciliation with Indigenous populations and the history of colonialism, genocide, and cultural genocide is gaining more attention and support. This recent article in Indian Country Today underscores this recent academic paper on epigenetics and historical trauma, and offers input into the complexity of these issues. Part of my professional work is geared towards community-based/population-wide models of resilience that are congruent with Indigenous culture and spirituality. If anyone else is working to support these movements, please reach out for networking.
Etuaptmumk is the Mi'kmaw word for Two-Eyed Seeing. Go here and here for an overview/sense of what the aim of this is as relates to the intersection of “indigenous” mind and “colonial mind”. A new journal devoted to this topic has recently been announced/is under development. When I approach these types of efforts, and other efforts that are happening at the level of policy and research in the US into the Integrative Medicine model/movement, I ask myself “Is this in any way a covert accommodation to colonialism and patriarchy? Are they compatible? Can equal balance be had? If so, how?”
Interested in the growing trend for group-based support? The Integrated Center for Group Medical Visits found here is doing some interesting work and holds an annual conference on the topic. I presented last year on my work with The Center for Mind-Body Medicine leading over 100 online mind-body skills groups early in the Covid-19 pandemic.
Psychics in health care? Are you squirming in your seat? This paper explores differences in perceived helpfulness, satisfaction, and improvement in individuals seeking mental health support between psychics, mental health professionals, physicians, and family/friends. . What would be your takeaway from this paper?
The preceding item/discussion reminds me to mention a few other interesting resources: 1. Go here for a (now dated but still interesting/useful) review of 350 studies of physical health and 850 studies of mental health found that involvement in faith-based practices was, in general, positively associated with enhanced well-being and health outcomes. (Mueller et. al. 2001). It seems very few people I interact with have heard of another older study/effort, called the “spontaneous remission study” (Schlitz M. 1993. IONS) which demonstrated a set of common factors found in persons who had experienced remission of serious/life-threatening illness/disease. The following were the factors identified by the participants as contributory/causal in some way to their remission/recovery. Autonomy, psychological flexibility, facing the experience as opposed to avoidance or shutting down, emotional awareness and expressivity, strong/positive relationships, finding meaning, and the use of mind-body skills that promote self-awareness/expressions/regulation.
Interested in the emergence of conspirituality? The Conspirituality Podcast calls out and breaks apart these dynamics, including the ways they show up in health care and integrative health. (Note this paper is about 10 years old but the last 4-5 years has seen a refinement of the ideas, parallel to the growth of these dynamics in society).
Complex, complicated, or both? Go here for an interesting paper from Dr. Alfonso Montuori at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
Consider a look at Nora Bateson and The International Bateson Institute’s work found here… and their evolving concept of “warm data”.
Fat shaming is pervasive. This paper aims to work against this dynamic. Anyone care to write about the sociological lens on weight and obesity, including how the post-industrial food industry and larger sociocultural forces are playing a role?