Professional Training & Education

James S. Gordon, MD, Founder and Director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine; Dean of the Graduate School of Mind-Body Medicine at Saybook University; Clinical Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Family Medicine; Georgetown University School of Medicine; former Chairman of the White House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy; Author of Manifesto for a New Medicine, Comprehensive Cancer Care, and Unstuck: Your Guide to the Seven Stage Journey out of Depression.

Course Faculty

Susan Blum, MD, MPH, Board Certified, Preventive Medicine; Faculty, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine; Facilitator, Mind-Body Skills Groups in Westchester and Connecticut. Private Practice, White Plains, NY

Afrim Blyta, MD, PhD, Neuropsychiatrist, Head of Department of Neurology, University Clinical Center of Kosova; Faculty member, University School of Prishtina; Co-founder of Institute for Mental Health and Recovery of Kosova; Country co-director of national project of Mind-Body Medicine; National faculty of CMBM since 2001; International faculty of CMBM Washington DC since June 2005; Private Practice in Prishtina, Kosovo

Bob Buckley, LCSW, Consultant in Stress Management, Coping with Change in the Workplace, and The Aftermath of Violence; Critical Incidence Stress Debriefer, giving sessions for Police, Fire and Rescue personnel, private corporations, and the general public; Senior Faculty member, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s national and international trainings. Supervisor for candidates enrolled in the Center’s Certification program

Monique Class, MS, APRN, BC, Clinical Nurse in Holistic Health; Certified Family Nurse Practitioner; Director of Nursing, the Center for Women’s Health, Stamford, CT; Certified by the Psychosynthesis Institute in Imagery and Visualization. Faculty member, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine; Facilitator, Mind-Body Skills Groups, CMBM’s annual professional and advanced training programs

Chad Dingman, L.C.S.W., Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Oncology Certified Social Worker; Mind-Body Skills Group Facilitator at Gibbs Cancer Center Spartanburg, SC; Faculty Member, Center for Mind-Body Medicine.

Joel M. Evans, MD, Founder and Director of the Center for Women's Health, Stamford, Connecticut; Assistant Professor, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology and Women's Heath; author of The Whole Pregnancy Handbook

Kathleen Farah, MD, Mind-Body Skills Groups leader, Integrative Medicine Clinic, Children’s Hospitals and Clinic in Minneapolis; Board certified in family practice and holistic medicine

Thomas Hudson, MD, Board certified diagnostic radiologist specializing in breast imaging; currently on staff at Women´s Center for Radiology in Orlando, FL; Faculty member, Center for Mind-Body Medicine; Facilitator, Mind-Body Skills groups at WCR; author, Journey to Hope, a book of self-care and prevention as they relate to breast cancer (expected release date- Dec. 2010)

Debra Lewis Kaplan, LCSW, LMFT, Psychotherapist, Dallas, TX; Faculty member, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine; Diplomat, American Psychotherapy Association

Jerrol Kimmel, RN, MA, Integrative Medicine Practitioner and Mind-Body Skills Group Facilitator; Massage Therapist; Private practice services in counseling and bodywork; Faculty, Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s trainings nationally and internationally

Thomas Kuciejczyk-Kernan, MD, Board Certified Family Physician; Facilitating Mind-Body Skills Groups in family practice at Grace Hill Health Centers, St. Louis MO

Lilita Matison, MSW, Clinical social worker; Faculty member for The Center for Mind-Body Medicine; Adjunct faculty member at the University of Latvia in Riga.

Lora Matz, MS, LICSW, Psychotherapist; Faculty member at the Center for Spirituality and Healing; University of MN; Course Advisor, CancerGuides® Program offered by The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Claire Michaels Wheeler, MD, PhD, Physician, Psychologist in Portland, Oregon; Founder of MindBody Medicine of Portland; Instructor, Portland State University School of Community Health; Author of "10 Simple Solutions to Stress," 2007, New Harbinger Publishers.

Kelsey Menehan, LCSW-C, Psychotherapist; Senior Faculty, Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s work both nationally and internationally in Kosovo, Gaza, and Israel; Writer, health and mental health topics

John A. Patterson, MD, MSPH, Family physician, Irvine, KY; Assistant Professor, Department of Family and Community Medicine, University of Kentucky College of Medicine. Past president, the Kentucky Academy of Family Physicians

Judith Pedersen-Benn, MS, CADC, CHT, Holistic Substance Abuse Counselor; Faculty, The Center for Mind Body Medicine; Mind Body Skills group facilitator; Transformational Learning Consultant

Lynda Richtsmeier Cyr, PhD, LP, Integrative Clinical Psychologist; Consultant; Clinical Instructor of Pediatrics, University of Minnesota School of Medicine; part-time faculty, College of Mind-Body Medicine, Saybrook University

Amy Shinal, LCSW, Private psychotherapy practice; Senior Faculty, Center for Mind-Body Medicine’s trainings nationally and internationally; Clinical Director, The Center for Mind-Body Medicine

Jusuf Ulaj, MD, Neuropsychiatrist, Head of Department of Psychiatry, University Clinical Center of Kosova; Faculty member, University School of Prishtina; Co-founder, Institute for Mental Health and Recovery of Kosova; National faculty of CMBM since 2001; International faculty of CMBM-Washington DC since June 2005; Co-owner, private practice in Prishtina, Kosovo

Patricia A. Van Kley, PhD, psychologist, private practice; post-doctoral study in Relational/Cultural therapy; study of samatha and vipassana meditation. In her work at a residential facility for adolescent boys she developed and implemented a family therapy program and established exercise and nutrition programs as an integral part of the treatment.