The Integrative Medicine lecture left me with a yearning to better understand the way in which traditional treatment regimens are not fully meeting healthcare needs. The two things I would like to integrate into primary care practice are self regulation and assisting patients in weaning off opioids.
As Kathryn Hansen spoke about, I have personally seen the impact that self regulation techniques (triangle of awareness, diaphragmatic breathing, etc.) can make on stress and anxiety. In addition to anecdotal evidence, there is an increasing body of evidence that supports the role of mindfulness and other self-regulation techniques on our health. (https://bemindful.co.uk/evidence-research/, http://marc.ucla.edu/workfiles/pdfs/marc-mindfulness-research-summary.pdf). …show more content…
That being said, due to time, stress, other barriers, these conversations often do not happen or have to happen very quickly. Thus far in my clinical experience, I would say 25% of visits include a frank discussion about depression / anxiety, and another 25% include a more implicit discussion. In my future practice, I would like to teach patients self regulation techniques in individual appointments. In order to effectively teach this practice, I would need additional training and resources. I would like to start out by reading A Clinician’s Guide to Teaching Mindfulness: The comprehensive Session-by-Session Program for Mental Health Professionals and Health Care Providers. It would also be helpful to take a Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction course at the Osher center. VUSN also offers a Health Coaching Certificate Program that teaches licensed health professionals on topics of advanced health coaching, mindfulness, positive psychology, …show more content…
According to the Department of Health and Human Services, 116 people died daily from opioid overdose in 2016 and 11.5 million misused prescription opioids. (https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/) It has been emotionally exhausting to see how many patients at my clinical site have been prescribed long-term opioids, either by their PCP or by a pain clinic. Although I do know there are times when opioids are necessary, I find it our responsibility to offer patients a way out of the tunnel that opioids dig. Per Ms. Hansen’s lecture, outpatient wean allows the patient to engage in multi-disciplinary therapy while undergoing the weaning process. To effectively wean patients off of opioids, it will be crucial to have alternative therapies to offer them including things like acupuncture, massage, therapy, self-regulation, physical therapy, share groups, and yoga/other exercise. This could obviously be more difficult to do in certain geographic and in lower-SES areas. In order to do this safely, I would want to have a relationship with other like-minded providers in my area who I could collaborate and meet with. I would want to have relationships with other service providers in the area and have patients connected with a therapist, massage therapist, PT, yoga class, etc. before starting the weaning process.