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2016-2017 Academic Catalog and Student Handbook
Saybrook University
   
 
  Mar 28, 2024
 
2016-2017 Academic Catalog and Student Handbook 
    
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2016-2017 Academic Catalog and Student Handbook [Archived Catalog]

Mind-Body Medicine, Healthcare Practice Specialization, Ph.D.


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Transforming the Practice of Healthcare

Integrative medicine represents a new level of intellectual breadth and personal depth in healthcare. It requires training that emphasizes treating the patient as a whole person, rather than as a set of symptoms, and working with the mind and spirit as well as the body. The Healthcare Practice Specialization for the doctoral degree in Mind-Body Medicine gives currently licensed and aspiring holistic health professionals expert knowledge in their field. This specialization also prepares graduates to work in integrative health and wellness coaching, wellness education, health promotion, and stress management services.

Learn how to apply evidence-based, validated techniques through a transformative educational experience. You will be introduced to a wide range of mind-body and integrative approaches including hypnosis, biofeedback, nutrition, somatic therapies, wellness coaching, and other complementary therapies.

Treating the body does not treat the whole person. As a best practice, practitioners consider the interaction of body, mind, and spirit. As part of the PhD Mind-Body Medicine program at Saybrook, you will be on the cutting edge of your field, able to offer skills and experience to your patients and clients that others cannot match.Whatever doctoral specialization you choose, you will work directly with leaders in the field. Enroll now to become a member of a community dedicated to improving healthcare in America and developing better models of care.

Requirements


Specialization in Healthcare Practice

Designed for licensed health care professionals and individuals pursuing careers in health coaching and wellness education, this curriculum involves extensive evidence-based research to support a comprehensive range of mind-body skills used in the field of integrative medicine.

Requirements Overview

Students entering the Mind-Body Medicine doctoral program must have completed a master’s degree from a regionally accredited college or university prior to enrollment. Doctoral students must complete a minimum of 83 credits. Credits are earned by completing CIMHS courses.

Students receiving a master’s degree in Mind-Body Medicine from Saybrook who are admitted into the doctoral degree in Mind‐Body Medicine can generally transfer these credits into their PhD program. These students must fulfill the doctoral degree requirements not completed at the master’s level, including the remaining required courses and the dissertation or project. Meeting the doctoral requirements will include completing additional credits of doctoral coursework plus the dissertation or project, for a minimum total of 83 credits. Under some circumstances, additional courses required may total more than 83 credits.

For further information on admission into the PhD Mind-Body Medicine program after completion of the M.S. Mind-Body Medicine degree, contact the Saybrook Admissions Department. Some credits from a master’s degree earned in other programs at Saybrook may also be transferable into the doctoral degree program. Contact an academic advisor for additional information.

Note, this program is not a clinical psychology program. However, it can offer more flexibility in program planning to those wishing to enhance and further develop their clinical knowledge and expertise, but who do not intend to use the degree to qualify for licensure.

Total Credits: (Years 1-4) 83


* (Note: Students will remain enrolled in this course each term during culminating phase until completion.)

Degree Requirements for 2016-2017 Academic Year approved by CIMHS Degree Program Committee.

NOTES:

  • The degree completion time for a student following the default course sequence will average between 5 ½ to 6 ½ years. Some students may complete degree requirements in fewer terms and some may require more terms to complete the degree.
  • A listing of acceptable CIMHS courses and electives is available in the Saybrook Catalog. Students may also choose an elective from the required courses in other specializations.
  • This is a structured cohort program and the sequence of courses is different for students who start in the fall than for students who start in the spring.

Learning and Career Outcomes


What you can do with a PhD in Mind-Body Medicine, with a Healthcare Practice Specialization?

Licensed healthcare professionals who complete this degree will strengthen their already existing careers, utilizing integrative approaches to treatment and a variety of mind-body skills. Practice specialization graduates are prepared to excel in integrative medicine, holistic nursing, and a variety of allied health professions. Graduates without healthcare licenses will be prepared to work in the private practice of coaching and stress management, and as consultants and employees in corporate and medically based health promotion and wellness programs.

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