Course Descriptions

Offered: 1st 8-week session Fall Semester (Fall A)

In this course, students examine the fundamental concepts, history, philosophies, and evidence base of integrative health and wellness. Emphasis is placed on a whole-person health perspective, which considers the interconnected biological, behavioral, social, and environmental factors that influence health, disease, resilience, and well-being. Students explore how conventional and complementary approaches may be used together in a coordinated manner to support health promotion, disease prevention, treatment, and restoration of health. The course examines factors that influence health and well-being across the lifespan, including nutrition, physical activity, sleep, stress, relationships, environment, and health behaviors. Students explore scientific concepts relevant to whole person health, including genomics, epigenetics, psychoneuroimmunology, inflammation, and the gut microbiome, as well as functional and lifestyle medicine and selected traditional systems of health, including Ayurveda, naturopathic medicine, and traditional Chinese medicine. Complementary health approaches, including nutritional, psychological, and physical approaches, are examined with attention to their proposed mechanisms, safety, efficacy, and quality of scientific evidence. Students critically evaluate the strengths and limitations of research on integrative health approaches and consider how evidence can inform healthcare decision-making. Cultural, ethical, legal, and professional considerations are addressed throughout the course, along with emerging directions in integrative and whole person health.

In this course, students will learn about the connections between the mind, body, spirit, and energy in relation to health and disease. An overview of the scientific evidence for integrative interventions for health promotion and treatment is provided. Students will learn advanced skills in approaches that promote or rely on the connection between the mind and body. These include meditation, mindfulness, guided imagery, autogenics, hypnosis, spirituality, movement-based, journaling, acupuncture and energy therapies, and art therapies. Students will participate in experiential learning by practicing integrative approaches and interacting with an integrative health provider to increase their self-awareness of the interconnections between emotional, physical, mental, social, and spiritual aspects of health.

Students will learn the fundamentals of health coaching, which is guiding and enabling patients/clients to make and sustain choices to achieve and maintain health. Students will review frameworks and techniques of health coaching from a holistic perspective including assessment, identification of goals and barriers, development of action plans, implementation strategies, and monitoring progress. Students will be introduced to health behavior change theories and models, as well as interventions from integrative health and wellness. Also explored are personal, social, lifestyle, and medical resources to encourage comprehensive wellness. Students will work to develop strategies appropriate to their patient/client population through research, class discussions, mentored coaching activities, and independent assignments. Students will also complete a behavioral change project with a partner, allowing them to experience the roles of both a health and wellness coach and a client.

This course will provide students an interprofessional overview of the clinical application of integrative health and wellness approaches. Students will learn the skills necessary for developing an effective therapeutic practitioner-patient relationship and strategies for communicating and educating patients about integrative health and wellness approaches, potential benefits, and possible risks. The factors affecting the utilization, interpretation, and patient understanding of these therapies will be examined. Clinical decision-making and the influence of research on recommendations and evaluation will be examined. Students will learn how the integrative assessment differs from the conventional assessment process and how to develop an integrative treatment plan. Numerous case studies demonstrating the application of integrative approaches for the treatment and prevention of common and chronic diseases will be analyzed. Finally, the challenges in developing research to adequately examine the integrative approach as it is applied in clinical practice will be discussed.