Integrative Health Partners offers a range of non-clinical programs and services, designed to address the kinds of problems that any of us might encounter in life. These programs draw heavily on the mindfulness and positive psychology that are the hallmark of our psychotheraputic services.
As an complement to the programs described here, our blog, Live Mindfully, is our way of communicating with the professional community and the public about mindfulness in psychological research and practice. We invite you to surf over to it, and to feel free to leave your comments in response to our posts.
Offered by Roger Thomson, Ph.D.
Dr. Thomson has given presentations, workshops, and mindfulness trainings to corporations, schools, churches, and professional groups. Please call him at 312-263-8034 if you are interested in learning more about these courses, or email him through our Contact form
Offered by Roger Thomson, Ph.D. and Mary Connors, Ph.D.
Many of the individuals and couples we see in our practice are dealing with life problems that transcend medically-based diagnostic categories. These issues are not symptoms of larger problems like clinical depression, but the natural expression of our complicated human lives. Sometimes, our problems are just the result of our efforts to get through life as best we can - efforts which have had both positive and negative outcomes. Our Personal and Executive Coaching Program draws on our many years of experience as educators and psychologists, integrating several principles that we believe are central to positive change.
Acceptance and Commitment . Our coaching strategies rely on this fundamental principle, which we have learned through many years of helping people in psychotherapy: Meaningful change always requires both a thorough acceptance of ourselves as we are, and a commitment to act in accordance with our deep personal values. In our personal coaching sessions, you will learn to contact and express what is deeply important to you, and to develop concrete ways of expressing this in your life. We encourage this in the context of acceptance and compassion for ourselves, just as we are.
Positive psychology figures prominently in our personal coaching program. We have learned that happiness is not really the result of things that happen to us, but can be cultivated in the way we engage our lives. We draw on the growing body of psychological research on this topic to help people live more satisfying lives and realize their potentials.
Mindfulness is what enables us to be in the present, the place in which all change occurs. In taking action which actualizes our most far-reaching goals, the only thing we can ever do is take one step from right here. It can be startling to realize how much of our time we spend in daydreams and preoccupations, completely out of contact with our real life. Mindfulness helps us orient to who we really are, and what we are really experiencing. With this perspective, the path to our personal and professional goals is much clearer.
Wellness . There is always more right with us than wrong with us. Personal coaching emphasizes the strengths we can bring to our life's goals, and focuses on cultivating our most powerful human abilities: compassion, kindness, joyfulness, acceptance, and awareness.
Confidentiality . Personal coaching is not a treatment for "disease," and it is not a part of the insurance-reimbursement system. No insurance claims are ever filed for personal coaching services. In applying for future insurance, you will never have to disclose it as a treatment for a mental illness. All of our wellness services, including personal coaching, offer an additional protection to your confidentiality by being outside of the insurance system.
If you are interested in learning more about our Personal and Executive Coaching Program, please call Dr Thomson at 312-263-8034 or Dr. Connors at 312-372-5501. You can also email us through our Contact form.
Offered by Roger Thomson, Ph.D. and Mary Connors, Ph.D.
Not many people survive their exposure to the complicated societal pressures concerning weight, eating, and body image without some degree of conflict. In our Mindful Eating Classes, we help people come back to a natural relationship with food. Please call Dr. Connors at 312-372-5501 if you are interested in learning more about the course, or email her through our Contact form
Offered by Becca Meyer, Psy.D.
This is our basic course in minfulness as a stress-reduction approach. Adapted from Jon Kabat Zinn's famous MBSR program, this course is useful for those who need to find a way to de-stress and re-center. Please call Dr. Meyer at 312-372-2880 if you are interested in learning more about the course, or email her through our Contact form
With Sheila Somers, LCPC
All of us will suffer the death of a loved one or many loved ones in our lifetime. Grief is a natural reaction to the loss of someone we loved or someone who played an important role in our lives. Grief affects us on an up and down path appearing like a roller coaster verses a linear or stage model. Grief manifests in a variety of areas in our lives: emotional, physical, behavioral, cognitive/intellectual and existential/spiritual. Your heart may feel broken or wounded and you may not know how to cope with this loss and without this person in your life.
In our work with bereaved family members, we have seen the benefits of working through the grief process by becoming aware of the ways grief shows up in our lives and then tending to the grief manifestations. Becoming mindful of the emotions as they become present, accepting that they have arrived for our healing and then attending to them in the moment with knowledge that our emotions will come and go. Moving towards the grief is key to healing verses trying to avoid the grief, sadness or anger. Grieving teaches us to tend to it and to learn to cope even with suffering and sadness. Another step to healing is in one's search for meaning about the loss and the meaning of that person in your life.
Some people want to process their emotions with someone or in a group to find healing and others may want to find active ways to work on their grief. Create a memory book with photographs and stories of your loved one. Spend time building a legacy around something that was meaningful to them- a passion or a hobby. Some people find healing in writing or speaking about their loved one, planting a tree, donating a bench at a park in their honor and others may volunteer efforts for fundraising or research to find cures for illnesses. If you are interested in processing any thoughts and emotions around your loss, feel free to contact Sheila Somers at 773-414-4796 or email her through our Contact form
Offered by Mary Connors, Ph.D.
Many people face high stress situations in which performing at one’s peak abilities is crucial. These include taking standardized tests, giving presentations and artistic performances, and undergoing job interviews. Often people do not feel that they have been able to show their true abilities in such circumstances because anxiety and self doubt interfere with clarity of thinking and communication.
We offer services designed to enhance performance in such situations. We often use EMDR, sometimes in conjunction with other techniques, to help people remain calm, focused, and in command of themselves when under stress. This type of treatment can be very brief, sometimes involving only a few sessions. People who have done performance enhancement work frequently reported that they felt much more confident and empowered and were very happy with their performance outcomes.