Mind-Body Medicine: The New Science of Optimal Health

Course Overview

Bridge the gap between mind and body and gain a truly holistic view of your health in this science-based course that explores how your brain can impact your overall wellness.

Cutting-edge research shows that health is directly impacted by:

• Social environments, culture, and relationships

• Psychological states and habits of mind

• Behavioral patterns and socioeconomic factors

Through 36 lectures, Professor Satterfield reveals:

• The biological pathways linking mind and body

• Effective mind-body treatments for common conditions

• Tools for personal wellness and partnering with healthcare providers

Video Lectures

01: Weaving the Biopsychosocial Braid (34 min)

Explore the core model linking biological, psychological, and social health factors.

02: Vital Signs—Defining Health and Illness (30 min)

What does “health” truly mean? Examine multidimensional definitions and measurements.

03: Fight or Flight vs. Rest and Digest (32 min)

The biology of stress responses and consequences of chronic stress.

04: Simmering Soup—The Neuroendocrine System (32 min)

How cortisol and hormones mediate stress physiology.

05: Deploying the Troops—Basic Immunology (32 min)

Mind-immune system connections, from wound healing to meditation’s benefits.

06: Nature vs. Nurture—Genes, Health, and Disease (31 min)

Epigenetics: How environment and behavior alter genetic expression.

07: Forget Me Not—Cognitive Function (31 min)

Intelligence, memory, and “neurobics” for brain fitness.

08: Mind over Matter—Cognition in Everyday Life (30 min)

The power of belief and cognitive therapy techniques.

09: Emotions Revealed—Psychology of Emotions (28 min)

How emotions signal, communicate, and affect health.

10: Agony and Ecstasy—Biology of Emotion (33 min)

Brain regions governing emotion and their physical signatures.

11: What’s Your EQ, and How Can You Improve It? (31 min)

Emotional intelligence’s role in health and emotion regulation.

12: What’s Your Type? Personality and Health (30 min)

How personality traits predict health risks like cardiovascular disease.

13: An Apple a Day—Behavior and Disease Prevention (32 min)

The neuroscience of habits (smoking, overeating) and social determinants.

14: Staying on the Wagon—Making Changes That Last (33 min)

Models for successful behavior change and willpower.

15: Ease the Burn—Modern-Day Stress and Coping (31 min)

Mindfulness, resilience, and 8 coping behaviors.

16: The Iceberg—Visible and Hidden Identity (33 min)

How culture, race, and gender identities shape health.

17: Ties That Bind—Relationships and Health (31 min)

Social connections’ proven impact on conditions from cancer to heart disease.

18: Building Bridges—Intimacy and Relationships (32 min)

Strategies to strengthen social support and resolve conflict.

19: Touched by Grace—Spirituality and Health (32 min)

Meditation, prayer, and forgiveness’s medical benefits.

20: A Matter of Class—Socioeconomics and Health (33 min)

Income, education, and social status’s startling health correlations.

21: A Cog in the Wheel—Occupational Stress (33 min)

Workplace burnout causes and cutting-edge interventions.

22: The Power of Place—Communities and Health (32 min)

How neighborhoods and green spaces affect wellbeing.

23: The Master Plan—Public Health and Policy (33 min)

Behavioral economics and “choice architecture” for healthier societies.

24–25: Heart and Soul—Cardiovascular Disease I & II (32 min each)

Stress, personality, and mind-body treatments for heart health.

26: The Big C—Cancer and Mind-Body Medicine (31 min)

Psychosocial factors in cancer risk and recovery.

27: Bugs, Drugs, and Buddha—Psychoneuroimmunology (33 min)

Emotions’ impact on immunity (HIV, asthma, surgery recovery).

28: Fire in the Belly—The GI System (33 min)

Stress-digestion links (ulcers, IBS) and gut microbiome science.

29: Obesity—America’s New Epidemic (32 min)

Biological, environmental, and behavioral roots of weight challenges.

30: The Strain in Pain Lies Mainly in the Brain (31 min)

Mind-body treatments for chronic pain (biofeedback, acupuncture).

31: Catching Your Zs—Sleep and Health (31 min)

Insomnia’s causes and cognitive-behavioral solutions.

32: Chasing Zebras—Somatoform Disorders (32 min)

Medically unexplained symptoms (chronic fatigue, back pain).

33: Seeing the Glass Half Empty—Depression (33 min)

Biopsychosocial treatments from cognitive restructuring to supplements.

34: Silencing the Scream—Understanding Anxiety (33 min)

Phobias, OCD, and exposure therapy techniques.

35: Lingering Wounds—Trauma, Resilience, Growth (31 min)

PTSD biology and post-trauma meaning-making.

36: Tomorrow’s Biopsychosocial Medicine (34 min)

The future of personalized, interdisciplinary healthcare.