09/15/2024
Five years ago today, was one of the most gratifying experiences of my professional life occurred: the inaugural gathering in my living room of what, at the time, we jokingly dubbed "The Kaiser Drum Circle" (then later named "Kaiser Integrative Medicine").
WHAT I POSTED ON THAT DAY
It's three hours later and I'm still all a-buzz with energy, enthusiasm, and inspiration. A group of three Kaiser physicians (psychiatrist, family medicine, gerontologist), a psychiatric pharmacist, a social worker, and I (a psychotherapist) had an inaugural heart-soul-and-brainstorm session here at the house to discuss steps we might take to advance the integration of complementary and alternative modalities back at "The Plant." After years of hang-wringing, I co-organized the gathering with the MD (addictionologist) whose office shares a wall with mine and who has been a kindly host to and commiserator of my frustrations. (Sadly, she was unable to come today.)
Most of the folks present either had never met the others or only had a passing acquaintanceship with this one, that one. Such powerful stories emerged, as we shared personal accounts of how our own lives had been changed by Qigong, Tai Chi, yoga, meditation, Reiki, aromatherapy, pranic healing, and other forms of energy work. We "inter-were" (in that ThichNhatHanhian way) and the RELIEF everyone felt was palpable. OF COURSE these modalities inform our ways of engagement with patients, but to what extent can they be utilized outright, since no protocols have been developed (sometimes due to pushback or even hostility of medical and clinical administrators)?
Some stretches of the 3-hour conversation (originally scheduled for 2 hours!) were fluid. At other times, we each pulled out a notepad or gizmo to take notes: resources, organizational next steps, each other's upcoming workshops or trainings, names of future invitees. I got teary at every turn.
Two and one-half hours in, the family medicine MD provided us with a 15-minute "ghetto" sound bath ("ghetto" = her term, based I think on the kind of random assemblage of singing bowls and gently percussive instruments she had arranged behind the sofa).
And when we moved toward wrapping up, I asked how long an interval we might want to have between meetings. Maybe quarterly, so they don't get burdensome in their frequency? NO, MONTHLY! was the enthusiastically stated preference. And then others offered to host in turn, so we will rotate through each others' homes as we go.
So, yes, I'll still all a-buzz.
ABOUT THE PHOTO
About four years prior to the formation of our "Kaiser Drum Circle" aka "Kaiser Alternative Medicine," my colleague addictionologist Belis Aladag, MD and Infectious Disease MD April Soto were part of a team, supporting the Kaiser Permanente Los Angeles Medical Center Family Medicine Resident MDs through their process. Chief Resident Pamela Tangchitnob invited me to lead the residents in Qigong over at the hospital in the "Healing Garden" (pictured). The experience for me was incredibly validating (my first time to be recognized outside the addiction clinic where I worked). Looking back, I see it as a landmark along a trajectory that continues to this day.
I will be eternally grateful that, four years before THAT, my Department Administrator Jim Carter accepted my proposal that I provide "Mind-Body Recovery Techniques" (my adaptation of Integral Qigong and Tai Chi) in the Addiction Medicine Department ... and at NO COPAY to attendees!
Other folks to acknowledge include Rachel Elizabeth, LCSW and my good buddy Victor Parra, LCSW for their inspiring and groundbreaking introduction of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in the Department of Health Education. Oh, and there's Dee Clark Lcpc Ladc, my Antioch University classmate and a meditator, who preceded me at Kaiser and who added meditation to the curriculum there. A shout-out to Candace Elliott, who came to Addiction Medicine to give a presentation on Tai Chi and Qigong (that even our Chief of Service MD engaged with)! Deep appreciation, too, to Kaiser providers Eric Pierce, Sasha Lewicki, Mary Dow, Rebecca Hall Crane, Ted Leonido-John, Nancy Gabaldon, and Wendy Satmary, (whom I met when I represented Kaiser on a panel at Cedar-Sinai's Center for East-West Medicine Tai Chi Symposium). I mustn't fail to gratefully mention Daniel Shulman LMFT, who continues to provide instruction and experience in meditation for Addiction Medicine program enrollees.
