The Center for Mind-Body Medicine's Program Expands to Israel after Success in Combating the Psychological Effects of War in Kosovo.

WASHINGTON -- Research Demonstrates Use of Mind-Body Medicine Significantly Decreases Post Traumatic Stress Disorder 

In an effort to continue healing those traumatized by war, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine (CMBM) is extending its reach to Israel, Gaza and the West Bank. This program follows the success of The Center's Healing the Wounds of War program -- previously conducted in war-torn Kosovo. This program was shown to dramatically reduce post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in adolescents living in Kosovo. CMBM's first extended training of Healing the Wounds of War in Israel is planned near Jerusalem July 4-9, 2004.

"Our experience in Kosovo provided us with a wealth of information, reinforcing that mind-body skills, taught in a small supportive group format, are highly effective in alleviating PTSD," said James S. Gordon, M.D., Founder and Director of CMBM and formerly Chair of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.

In addition to its training in Jerusalem, CMBM plans to provide aid to Gaza and the West Bank on future trips. Three CMBM staff members plus four faculty members from the U.S. will train more than 60 leading mental health professionals in the Jerusalem sessions. "We are overbooked; twice as many people want to come as we can accommodate -- and the applications are still coming in," Gordon said.

According to a recent study published in "The Journal of Traumatic Stress" by CMBM, the 139 Kosovar high school students that participated in six-week long programs, led by local teachers trained by The Center, showed a significant decrease in symptoms of PTSD. The students were from the Suhareka region, where 90% of homes had been destroyed, and 20% of the students had lost one or both parents. Three groups of students advanced through the program in succession, and a pre-test of the first group revealed mild to severe PTSD in 66% of the students. According to post-tests, the number dropped to 44% by program completion. Groups two and three noted even more striking decreases in PTSD, from 92% to 38% and 96% to 35%, respectively.

"Use of the techniques of mind-body medicine, such as meditation, biofeedback, movement, drawings, breathing techniques, allowed the students to make positive changes in their psychological and physiological states, enabling them to explore the causes of this stress and develop creative responses to it," said Gordon.

The Center's approach may represent a significant advance not only in the treatment of traumatized adolescents, but also in treating entire traumatized populations. The Healing the Wounds of War program, in effect since 1998, is now being implemented by leading psychiatrists and psychologists throughout Kosovo, and is now central to the entire community's mental health system.

The Center for Mind-Body Medicine is a non-profit educational organization dedicated to reviving the spirit and transforming the practice of medicine. CMBM is working to create a more compassionate, open-minded, and effective model of health care and health education. This model combines the precision of modern science with the wisdom of ancient healing. It addresses the mental, emotional, social and spiritual, as well as the physical dimensions of each person and the centrality of therapeutic partnerships.