Mind-Body Behavioural
Medicine Fertility program
The most comprehensive mind/body
program in Canada designated to helping you cope with the stress of trying
to conceive.
Historical
Research: In the mid 1980's Alice Domar PhD began working with cardiologist
Herbert Benson the founder of the Mind/Body Institute in Boston; Benson pioneered
the use of the relaxation technique to reduce the physical effects of stress.
One day during a lecture Dr. Benson was speaking to a group of obstetricians
and gynecologists when one of the doctors commented that the same gland that
calms a stressed out system, the hypothalamus, also manages reproductive functioning.
"Couldn't there be some relationship between the relaxation response
and infertility?” the doctor asked.
Domar and Benson decided to examine the question. They organized a study,
in collaboration with the doctor from the conference. They recruited 100 women
with unexplained infertility, taught half of them the relaxation response
and then compared the group's pregnancy rates over time to the rest. The research
study was dropped because the control group wanted to participate in the learning
of the relaxation response.
Current Research: In the first study published in 1999 in the
Journal of the American Medical Women's Association, 42 percent of
the 132 infertile women in the program conceived within 6 months. In the second
study published in April 2000 in the Journal of Fertility and Sterility,
55 percent of the 148 infertile women in the program conceived within 6 months
and actually delivered babies as did 54 percent of those participating in
a support group. In the group that received no psychological help, only 20
percent conceived and gave birth.
Mind/body treatment
programs for infertility patients have been shown to both increase pregnancy
rates as well as reducing psychological distress. The Harvard
Behavioural Medicine program for infertility has been in existence since 1987
in Boston. In recent studies Journal of the American Medical Women’s
(1999) & Journal Fertility and Sterility (2000) conducted at Harvard
Medical School, 185 women who had been trying to conceive for one to two years
were randomized into either a ten week mind/body group, a ten week support
group, or a routine care control group.
The birth rates during
the one year follow-up period were as follows: mind body – 55%, support group
54%, and controls 20%. In addition, the mind/body patients reported significantly
greater psychological improvements than the support or control patients. In
four other published studies on several hundred women with average infertility
duration of 3.5 years, 42 percent conceived within six months of completing
the program and there were significant decreases in all measured psychological
symptoms including depression, anxiety, and anger.
This successful program
is based on the work of two pioneers and experts in the fields Alice Domar’s PhD Harvard
Behavioural Medicine Program for Infertility (1987) currently director
of the Mind/Body center for women’s health at BOSTON IVF and Jon Kabatt Zinn PhD Mindfulness
Stress Reduction Clinic and professor of Medicine at the University
of Massachusetts Medical School.
Session
Content: This 12 week program
with over 45 hours of classroom time, include the following sessions:
The
impact of stress on couples; How to use breathing as an anchor; Living with
mindfulness; Nutrition and fertility; Cognitive restructuring and your
rational Thinking; Understanding grief and loss; Self- Nurturance: Being good
to yourself; Men’s gathering and Adoption; Reclaiming joy as a couple; First
things first: values clarification; Journaling: Safe expressions of emotions;
Ongoing group support and setting goals.
In addition, you will
learn a comprehensive variety of relaxation strategies: Guided imagery, Hypnosis,
Autogenic training, Meditation, Mindfulness practice, Progressive Muscle relaxation,
Yoga, Prayerful meditation, Guided visualization, Mini’s, Body Scan, and Mindful
walking.
Course Outcome: You
will learn scientifically proven strategies to increase your sense of control
and overall well-being. Learn methods to help you cope with the stresses of
infertility and of daily life in a positive life –affirming way. Previous
participants have shown significant improvements (85 %) in physical and psychological
symptoms of stress, such as insomnia, headaches, abdominal pain and anxiety.
While the emphasis of
this program is on acquiring a more balanced and peaceful outlook, no matter
what the fertility outcome, several scientific studies have shown that mind-body
treatment programs may increase pregnancy rates.
“This program is
a huge success at helping human beings to continue to celebrate life even
while enduring some immense and painful challenges. My thanks and love to
you for your patience, commitment, energy, spirit and courage in directing
the Mind –Body Behavioural Medicine Fertility program.”
Cecile Barington B.A., M.Ed, is a counsellor
and educator specializing in emotional and physical well-being. She has a
B.A Psychology from McGill University (1985) and a Master’s degree in Counselling
Psychology from University of British Colombia (1988). She has
over 15 years of experience in the counselling profession and has been the
director of this mind/body program since 2001. Cecile’s post-university training
includes work with Dr. Alice Domar, PhD a recognized leader in the field of
Mind-Body Behavioural Medicine Infertility. Cecile lives in Toronto with her
husband and daughter, conceived after a personal experience with sub-fertility.
Location: University
of Toronto OISE bldg 252 Bloor Street.
Fall/Spring sessions:
Sunday evenings, 5pm – 8pm for 12 weeks
Fee: $1,450 GST included
(flexible instalment available)
For more information or to register contact
Email: cbarington@ConceiveThePossibility.com