Uma Naidoo, MD: The Food-Mind Connection
Episode #51 of the Charged podcast
Behavioral Medicine Program
The Behavioral Medicine Program (BMED) at Massachusetts General Hospital includes clinical, research and training activities that focus on the intersection of psychology and health.
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 cardiology patient 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.
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 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 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:
- Primary Care
- Diabetes Center
- Weight Center
- Cancer Center
- Orthopedics Hand & Arm Center
- Infectious Disease Unit
- Neurosciences Intensive Care Unit
- Division of Gastroenterology
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.
Our Team
Our staff is dedicated to helping patients both through direct clinical service and through conducting research to find new ways to improve care, led by a team of leaders in the field.
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- Director, Behavioral Medicine Program, Department of Psychiatry
- Associate Professor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School
- Associate Director, BBCS Core, Harvard University Center for AIDS Research
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- Associate Director, Behavioral Medicine Program
- Associate Professor, Harvard Medical School
- Staff Psychologist, Behavioral Medicine Program
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- Clinical Director, Behavioral Medicine Program
- Assistant Professor in Psychology, Harvard Medical School
Staff Psychologists
- Abigail Batchelder, PhD, MPH
- Emily Feig, PhD
- Mark J. Gorman, PhD
- Sarah Gray, PsyD
- Joseph Greer, PhD
- Daniel L. Hall, PhD
- Jamie Jacobs, PhD
- Robert Knauz, PhD
- Allison Labbe, PhD
- Jonathan Lerner, PhD
- Christina M. Luberto, PhD
- Rachel Millstein, PhD
- Elyse Park, PhD, MPH
- Giselle K. Perez, PhD
- Lara Traeger, PhD
- Timothy Wallace, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellows
- Calvin J. Fitch, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Behavioral Medicine - Jacklyn D. Foley, PhD
Clinical Fellow in Psychology, Behavioral Medicine
Research Fellow in Integrative Medicine (T32), Harvard Medical School - Jessica McCurley, PhD, MPH
Clinical Fellow in Psychology, Behavioral Medicine
Clinical Research Fellow, Internal Medicine - Ashley M. Nelson, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow in Oncology Population Sciences (T32), Harvard Cancer Center - Amelia M. Stanton, PhD
Clinical Research Fellow in Psychology, Behavioral Medicine
Research Fellow in Global Psychiatry (T32), Harvard Medical School/Boston University School of Medicine - Joanna M. Streck, PhD
Postdoctoral Scholar, K12 Career Development in Substance Use and Addiction Medicine
Predoctoral Fellows
- Lucy Finkelstein-Fox, MS, PhD Candidate
- Matthew Sullivan, MS, PhD Candidate
Affiliated Faculty & Staff
- Sannisha K. Dale, PhD, EdM
- Jeanne M. Fama, PhD
- Susan Himes, PhD
- Jessica Magidson, PhD
- Greer A. Raggio, PhD, MPH
- Ellen Slawsby, PhD
- Stephanie Sogg, PhD
- Susan Sprich, PhD
- Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD
Project Managers, Grant Administrators & Clinical Research Coordinators
- Abby Blyler, BA, Clinical research coordinator
- Georgia Goodman, BS, Senior clinical research coordinator
- Norik Kirakosian, BS, Clinical research coordinator
- Artem Shakhramanyan, MHA, Grant Administrator
- Megan Wirtz, BA, 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
- Matthew Mimiaga, PhD
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 intern spots for the Behavioral Medicine Elective available each year.
The Internship in Clinical Psychology includes the following rotations:
- Outpatient Psychiatry
- Weight Center
- Dialectical Behavioral Therapy
- Blake 11
The Internship in Clinical Psychology also offers other potential rotations:
- Gastroenterology Service
- The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health
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.
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:
- Cape Town, South Africa: focused on evaluating nurse-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy intervention for HIV medication adherence and depression
- 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.
Pioneering Psychiatry Research
The integration of patient care and clinical research has been a hallmark of the Department of Psychiatry for more than 30 years. Today, the department has the largest clinical research program in the hospital, with studies at the forefront of neuroscience, molecular biology and genetics.