Contact Information

Behavioral Medicine Program

One Bowdoin Square, 9th Floor
Boston, MA  02114

Prospective Patients

Clinical services are available for established patients at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Your MGH provider may place a referral to the BMED program through your electronic medical record and, once the referral is received, a patient care coordinator will contact you.

Please note: The Department of Psychiatry accepts most health insurance common to eastern Massachusetts. Please contact your health insurance provider with any questions related to coverage. See the Department’s frequently asked questions.

Referring Providers

If you have questions about services or the referral process for the BMED program, please contact Andres Bedoya, PhD at abedoya@mgh.harvard.edu.

Explore This Treatment Program

    About the Program

    The Behavioral Medicine Program (BMED) at Massachusetts General Hospital provides specialized care at the intersection of psychology and health for patients impacted by both medical and psychiatric conditions through clinical work, professional training, and research.

    Since the program's founding by Steven A. Safren, PhD, in 2004, the treatment programs and research conducted by the Behavioral Medicine Program have emphasized the use of validated, state-of-the art treatment interventions based on the latest research to help patients reach their best levels of mental and physical health.

    The BMED Program specializes in providing cognitive behavioral therapy-based interventions that are typically short-term, skills-based and tailored to the patient's individual needs.

    Our Mission

    The mission of the Behavioral Medicine Program is to enhance the lives of our patients, staff, fellows, faculty, and colleagues through the practice of the highest quality clinical research, informing the delivery of state-of-the-art clinical services, within a nurturing, collegial and mentored training and work environment.

    Who We Serve

    Referrals to the BMED Program are typically received for the following types of patients:

    • Patients with chronic illness and a mental health condition (e.g., depression) who would benefit from cognitive behavioral therapy interventions.
    • Patients experiencing distress that may be affecting their health (e.g., a patient with a cardiac condition who may benefit from stress management).
    • Patients who may need help coping with an acute or chronic medical condition (whether or not they have a psychiatric diagnosis). For example, treatment may target adjusting to a new diagnosis, improving self-care or increasing adherence to medical treatment.
    • Patients who would like support in changing behavior to prevent an illness or disease.

    Our Research

    The BMED Program is at the forefront of research focused on developing, validating and disseminating psychosocial interventions to help individuals with a variety of health and medical issues. We conduct research both domestically and internationally across three continents. To learn more about the specific projects we are currently conducting or to learn about enrolling, please visit our Behavioral Medicine Research page.

    Behavioral Medicine Research

    Our Treatment Model

    Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is one of the primary treatments applied within the BMED Program. CBT focuses on helping the individual develop personal coping strategies with the goal of solving current problems and changing unhealthy patterns of thought, behavior, and emotion. While it was originally developed for the treatment of depression, CBT has proven highly effective for treatment of mental health conditions across many medical diagnoses.

    The BMED Program has extensive experience in applying CBT to medical conditions such as HIV, diabetes (types 1 & 2), cancer, epilepsy, pain, and sleep problems. Our faculty also conduct clinical research aimed at developing new treatments and expanding our understanding of how to improve the way current treatments are applied.

    What You Can Expect from Treatment

    Treatment typically begins with an initial evaluation with your doctor over one or two visits. Once the evaluation is completed, the patient and provider will discuss treatment goals and a plan for achieving these goals.

    The length of treatment varies but typically lasts from 8 to 16 weekly sessions. Providers in Behavioral Medicine regularly coordinate care with other Mass General providers involved in the patient's care.

    A Collaborative Approach to Care

    The BMED Program works closely with other medical departments within Mass General including (but not limited to):

    Professional Training

    The Behavioral Medicine Program (BMED) is very involved in training the next generation of behavioral medicine researchers through both predoctoral and postdoctoral training opportunities.

    Predoctoral Internship

    Predoctoral trainees can apply for the APA-approved clinical Internship in Clinical Psychology at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Within the internship, there are two-three intern spots for the Behavioral Medicine Elective available each year.

    The Internship in Clinical Psychology includes approximately one day of protected research time, and the following core clinical rotations:

    • Outpatient Psychiatry (comprised of BMED and general CBT cases)
    • Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
    • Inpatient Psychiatric Service (Blake 11)

    Interns will select 1-3 additional clinical rotations, based on desired clinical training objectives. Learn more about clinical rotations and research opportunities and our current research portfolio.

    Postdoctoral Training

    The BMED Program provides additional training in clinical and research methods by offering postdoctoral fellowships. Since 2004, BMED has trained numerous postdoctoral fellows, many of whom stay on to become full-time faculty at Mass General/Harvard Medical School. Other fellows have taken tenure-track positions in academic psychology departments.

    These fellowships depend on the status of various internal and external funding mechanisms. Typically, we know about the availability of postdoctoral positions for July or September after the end of January of that year. We also partner with numerous T32 fellowships, including, but not limited to, the Global Psychiatric Clinical Research Training Program (see below).

    Global Psychiatric Research Training

    We also offer a postdoctoral training opportunity through the Global Psychiatric Clinical Research Training Program, a National Institute of Mental Health-funded T32 fellowship organized in collaboration with the Division of Global Psychiatry at Mass General. This fellowship is a protected time clinical research fellowship devoted to providing training to fellows interested in clinical research careers in global mental health. Fellows are mentored by Conall O’Cleirigh, PhD.

    Training opportunities may be available at a few different sites, including, but not limited to:

    • Cape Town, South Africa: focused on evaluating nurse-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for HIV medication adherence and depression
    • Durban, South Africa: focused on reproductive health of women living with or at risk for HIV
    • India: focused on HIV prevention among men who have sex with men

    More details about the fellowship can be found Mental Health Innovation Network's website. For more information about potential clinical research opportunities available in the upcoming year, please email Christina Psaros, PhD.

      

    Staff Psychologists
    behavioral medicine program
    Members of the Behavioral Medicine Program
    Fellows

    Postdoctoral Fellow

    • Elizabeth Waldron, PhD
      Clinical Research Fellow in Psychology, Behavioral Medicine
      Research Fellow in Global Psychiatry (T32), Harvard Medical School/Boston University School of Medicine

    Predoctoral Fellows

    • Kristen Regenauer, MS
    • Emily Walsh, MS
    Affiliated Faculty & Staff
    Project Managers, Grant Administrators & Clinical Research Coordinators
    • Zoya-Maria Aoun, MHS, Clinical research coordinator
    • Brianna Estrada, BS, Clinical research coordinator
    • Elizabeth Powers, BS, Clinical research coordinator
    • Samantha Marquez McKetchnie, MSW, LCSW, Project & data manager 
    • Julia Scheinbach, MPH, Clinical research coordinator
    Former Staff & Trainees
    • Steven Safren, PhD
      Founder and former director of the Behavioral Medicine Program (2004-2015)
    • Aaron J. Blashill, PhD
    • Michael Boroughs, PhD
    • Calvin J. Fitch, PhD
    • Laura Knouse, PhD
    • Matthew Mimiaga, PhD
    • Sarah Markowitz, PhD
    • Greer A. Raggio, PhD, MPH

    Department of Psychiatry

    For 80 years, Mass General's Psychiatry Department has provided the highest quality patient care through pioneering research.

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    Internship in Clinical Psychiatry

    This predoctoral internship is open to matriculated doctoral students enrolled in clinical or counseling psychology programs.

    Learn more

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