Where does the educational program originate?

Hi Maliolani,

It derived from a wide variety of sources. The main books used as sources were :

• the programs that Dr. Sarno described in his books (these evolved slightly over time - IIRC, lists may have appeared in Mindbody Prescription - in general, he wrote a new book every 8 years or so, so there was plenty of time for his approach to evolve)
• Dr. Schechter's Mindbody Workbook (which is based on writing prompts)
• Dr. Schubiner's online program (it's the same program as he uses in his clinic and that he put in his book)
• James Pennebaker's books on journaling (and a couple other books on journaling)
• Various other TMS books, such as the books by Clarke, Selfridge and Brady

I think of the program as being like a college "survey" class. When designing it, I just wanted people to be exposed to all of the wonderful free resources out there. The goal is to expose you to a wide variety of ideas so that you can make an informed decision about which resonate the most for you (this is important, because if an approach doesn't resonate with you, it won't help you to respond differently to your symptoms, and symptom response modification is crucial).

There are a number of different approaches out there. I tend to find that the basics of accepting the diagnosis, resuming normal activities, modifying how you respond to your symptoms, and learning to be kind to yourself/find equanimity in your life are the most helpful. After watching people for the last six years, it seems like many people have to invent their own way of healing. I put a lot of journaling into the SEP, but that wasn't because I believe that people heal themselves through journaling. Rather, it was to help them accept the diagnosis, so they could see how it could play out in their own life.