Anna Tobia, PhD Clinical Psychologist
Jefferson-Myrna Brind Center for Integrative Medicine

Chronic medical problems like cancer, headaches and pain, diabetes,
and a wide array of other conditions can have a profound emotional
impact. As a clinical psychologist at the Jefferson-Myrna Brind
Center for Integrative Medicine, I have found that interventions that
integrate mind, body and energy can be life-changing and help patients
face their illnesses in an emotionally balanced way.

Neuro-Emotional Technique (NET) is a powerful integrative tool. It
applies the principles of both traditional Chinese medicine and the
validated constructs of classical psychology. NET places the patient’s
presenting psychological issues within the larger context of the
patient’s life patterns. It provides a pathway that traces a
patient’s reaction to a current stress back to previous life
experiences. Our reactions are often automatic and unconscious.
Awareness is crucial to improvement. Once we recognize how we respond
and why we behave the way we do, it becomes possible to manage and
shift the psycho-physiological reaction to stress. We can then choose
to respond differently.

Medical illness often triggers and intensifies existing emotional
struggles. For example, someone with a tendency towards feeling
inadequate may notice this feeling being amplified by the stress of
illness. Someone else who has a pattern of being passive may feel
emotionally paralyzed when confronting a medical regimen. Unhealthy
emotions It is important to have support not just for the patient, but
for family members as well. Treatments can be complex and difficult
to manage and having help available can ease the strain.