Psychology 343 - Calderwood Seminar: Psychosomatic Medicine

Thoughts and feelings can have a profound impact on health. Through the interdisciplinary lens of psychosomatic medicine, the course critically evaluates empirically-supported embodiment practices (e.g., breathwork, meditation, visualization) for preventing metabolic and cardiopulmonary diseases, major causes of death globally. The course highlights recurring psychologically-mediated processes including placebo effects, emotion, and patient-practitioner relationships. More broadly, the course considers how individual healing is embedded in social, structural, cultural, and historical contexts, and begin envisioning what decolonized and liberatory healing means in the 21st century. The key emphasis of this course is ethically translating scientific research in this domain for public non-specialist audiences. Prerequisites: PSY 140 and PSY 202. Restrictions: Juniors and Seniors only. Enrollment limited to 12. Instructor permission required.

[CE] JR/SR only; Prereqs: PSY 140 & PSY 202