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Renowned Psychiatrist, Dr. David Spiegel, to Speak on the Role of Hypnosis and Group Support in Medical Care
NIH News Advisory |
National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) |
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For immediate release: |
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WHAT: On Tuesday, May 6, the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) will host the third lecture in its series Distinguished Lectures in the Science of Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
WHEN: The lecture will take place from 12:00 noon to 1:00 p.m. in Masur Auditorium at the Clinical Center (Building 10) on the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. The event is free and open to the public and will be videocast live at videocast.nih.gov.
WHY: The lecture, entitled "Hypnosis and Group Support in Medical Care: Altering Perception and Reality," will be presented by David Spiegel, M.D., professor and associate chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University School of Medicine.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: A leader in the field of psychosomatic research treatment and development, Dr. Spiegel's particular interest is the field of psychoneuroendocrinology/oncology, examining the relationship of stress and support to cancer survival time. He has also had a long interest in the use of hypnosis and treatment for medical symptoms and treatment effects. In 1978, he and his father, Herbert Spiegel, M.D., coauthored Trance and Treatment, which has since become a standard textbook on the clinical uses of hypnosis. Dr. Spiegel's book with Dr. Catherine Classen, Group Therapy for Cancer Patients, chronicles his experience helping patients with advanced cancers cope with their illness.
Since beginning research on the effects of support groups for women with metastatic breast cancer in 1976, Dr. Spiegel has since published numerous studies that demonstrate that group psychotherapeutic interventions have positive effects on mood disturbances, coping, and pain. He is the author of a landmark study, "Effect of Psychosocial Treatment of Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer," published in The Lancet in 1989. This study demonstrated that the application of supportive-expressive group therapy in women with terminal disease not only improved quality of life, but significantly enhanced survival time. Dr. Spiegel's work was featured on the Bill Moyers' Emmy Award-winning special Healing and the Mind.
A member of the editorial boards of 11 leading medical journals, Dr. Spiegel's research is supported by a number of distinguished research and charitable foundations. His current research involves collaborative efforts with investigators in Canada, Norway, Israel, and Australia, as well as a variety of medical/surgical specialists, psychiatrists, and psychologists in the United States.
For reasonable accommodations, please contact Michel Vloemans at 301-402-9686.
The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) is dedicated to exploring complementary and alternative medical (CAM) practices in the context of rigorous science, training CAM researchers, and disseminating authoritative information to the public and professionals. For additional information, call NCCAM's Clearinghouse toll free at 1-888-644-6226, or visit the NCCAM Web site at nccam.nih.gov.
