Philosophy

"...it would be very foolish to suppose that one could ever treat the [part] by itself without treating the whole body...just as one should not attempt to cure the eyes apart from the head, nor the head apart from the body, so one should not attempt to cure the body apart from the soul.  And this is the very reason why most diseases are beyond the Greek Doctors, that they do not pay attention to the whole as they ought to do, since if the whole is not in good condition, it is impossible that the part should be."
                                                               -- Plato

Observe all.
Study the patient rather than the disease.
Evaluate honestly.
Assist nature.
                                           -- Principles of the Hippocratic Method

Many women feel that their lives are overly busy and fragmented.  Parts of their bodies are doled out to different doctors, relatives are scattered, and time for friends rare and interrupted.  Women trying to find a balance between all of their responsibilities may feel a sense of disconnection from those aspects of life which give them strength and support.  All of this takes a toll on their health, in much more all-encompassing ways than many people realize.

We are on the cusp of an explosion of research that shows how these stresses, thoughts and emotions directly translate into physiologic changes in our bodies, and vice versa.  But this “proof” is only a substantiation of what many health care providers and women have known all along--that life events, attitudes and circumstances can affect our health for good or ill.  By recognizing and modifying our physical, emotional and spiritual responses to life's challenges, we can to some degree influence their impact.  

The purpose of the Women's Center for Mind-Body Health is to help women:

• focus on the rare opportunity to stand back and really look at all the different facets of their lives and see how they are interrelated, and how these facets might affect overall health and well-being
• receive reputable and updated information about their medical ob/gyn concerns, covering all of their options
• find out the many things they can do to help themselves get through and heal quickly from an operation if surgery becomes necessary
• learn to cope with the stresses of life
• find guidance and perspective about their health from appreciating their own innate strength and wisdom.

In addition, this website will hopefully serve as a catalyst for women and  health professionals who want to find out more about the power of the mind-body connection, and its unlimited potential in modern healthcare.