The Center for Integrative Medicine
University of Colorado Hospital

The Center for Integrative Medicine (TCFIM) integrates complementary and alternative medicine options with conventional care, including massage therapy, nutritional counseling, psychological counseling, biofeedback, traditional Chinese medicine, pharmaceutical/herbal counseling, spiritual counseling, chiropractic and health and wellness consultations.  Patients at the center are referred from University Hospital physicians, outside referral sources and through word of mouth.  Patients often have acute or chronic medical problems including cancer, arthritis, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic pain, and diabetes.  Most of the patients are struggling with adaptation to disease, many have multiple providers within our system, and most are looking for treatment that emphasizes a partnership approach to care.

Goals of the training program:

1. Introduce trainees to mind-body medicine in an integrative setting.
2. Emphasize collaboration with other health care providers.
3. Teach trainees interventions that complement work by other team members.
4. Teach trainees specific interventions that are empirically supported and are consistent with patient preferences for an active approach to wellness.
5. Teach trainees the model of primary care psychology and the difference from other behavioral medicine models.

Objectives of the training program:

1. Development of competence in the assessment and delivery of psychological interventions with chronic and acute disease emphasizing mind-body medicine.
2. Development of consultation skills in working with a multidisciplinary team.
3. Development and application of primary care psychology skills in collaboration with other providers.
4. Understanding of Integrative Medicine, patient preferences, and the resources that enable sound decision making about specific interventions.

Specific Training Activities:

The intern will follow patients from intake through treatment and case-conferencing.   Interns will be able to follow patients, couples, and families depending on their training goals.  The assessment process is multi-disciplinary and does not routinely rely on psychological testing, although interns may use tests when indicated.  Psychotherapy experiences can be in individual, family/couple, and group modalities depending on intern preferences and clinic caseload. The intern may have the opportunity to learn some biofeedback techniques from Dr. McGuire.  The intern will be responsible for collaborating with other providers involved in the patient’s care.  Educational activities include weekly individual supervision, case-conferencing meetings every two weeks, and educational meetings where practitioners present on a topic relevant to their discipline.  The intern will be responsible for doing one short presentation during their rotation. 

Theoretical Approaches

Patients at TCFIM present with a desire to be active in their health care and generally have an interest in mind-body approaches.  This involves the application of cognitive-behavioral, systems, and integrative approaches.  Mindfulness meditation is used as part of many interventions and can be incorporated into relaxation training, behavioral therapy, and acceptance work with chronic disease.

Supervision

Dr.  Bennett Leslie, Psy.D. is a licensed Clinical Psychologist with 20 years of experience.  He received his doctoral degree in clinical psychology from the University of Denver in 1998 and his Master’s degree from the University of Pittsburgh in 1986.  His interests include the impact of disease on psychological well being, behavior change, couple's therapy, coping skills, pain and mood disorders, and physician-patient communication.  In addition to seeing patients at The Center for Integrative Medicine, Dr. Leslie teaches physician-patient and end-of-life communication skills at the UCHSC School of Medicine and for the General Internal Medicine residency.

Denise McGuire, Ph.D. is a licensed psychologist with over 18 years of clinical experience.  She received her M.A. in Counseling and Human Development from Walsh University and her Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Akron.  She has worked in several college and university counseling centers in addition to community mental health and private practice.  She has counseled patients with a focus on mind/body approaches such as biofeedback, guided imagery, self-hypnosis and behavioral psychotherapy for a wide array of patient concerns and diagnoses.  Her interests include the use of mind-body principles to promote optimal health, wellness and performance.  In addition to her staff appointment at The Center for Integrative Medicine, Dr. McGuire maintains a private practice in Denver.