Recent studies demonstrate the effectiveness of understanding how and why pain is generated, and why it sometimes persists long after it protective effect has passed. We have combined an educational program with mindfulness exercises and skills training to help individuals develop their own recovery plan

1. Introducing Mindful Medicine
@
www.drnickpenney.com

2. Mindful Recovery
Sometimes dealing with
chronic mental or physical
health problems feels like
walking alone through the
freezing fog

3. Your guide through the fog
Dr Nick Penney PhD
• PhD in Musculoskeletal Medicine
at the Center for National
Research in Rehabilitation and
Disability Medicine, University of
Queensland
• Trained in Mindfulness Based
Cognitive Therapy by Professor
Mark Williams
• Trained to teach the Mindfulness
in Schools (UK) programs .b and
paws .b
• Vocationally registered in Pain
Management (New Zealand)
• Experienced clinician and
mindfulness teacher

4. What is Mindful Medicine?
Online education and advice
about how the mind and body
are interconnected (bi-
directional communication)
When working well and in
balance this promotes
wellbeing
When out of balance it can
make us profoundly unwell

5. We have a range of guided and tailored programs to help you
recover from:
• Chronic Pain
• Anxiety & Depression
• Medically Unexplained Symptoms
• Cancer recovery
• Cardio-vascular disease

6. The Biopsychosocial Approach
• The subject of Dr Penney’s PhD thesis
• It is necessary to consider all the
factors that combine in our
experience of pain, the sensations,
the thoughts (about pain) and the
emotions involved
• Just treating the symptoms is often
not enough to allow us recover
• Mindful Medicine can be used in
conjunction with your current
treatment
• Mindfulness may also be used on its
own when conventional treatment
has nothing more to offer (such as in
treatment resistant depression)

7. So what is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness means paying attention in a
particular way, on purpose, to the present
moment, and non judgmentally (Jon Kabat-- Zinn)
This is not what our untrained minds routinely
do, in fact they do the opposite!

9. Think of it as fitness training for the
brain!
It takes a bit of practice
and persistence but it pays
off in the end!

10. So, how do I learn what to do?
Each lesson includes:
• A written introduction
and explanation
• A set of narrated
educational power-
point slides
• A guided mindfulness
exercise to practice

11. Scientific Evidence
Is growing rapidly! One
powerful systematic review
and meta analysis of
Mindfulness interventions
published in the journal Plos
One by Gotnik et al 2015
concluded :
‘’The evidence supports the
use of MBSR and MBCT to
alleviate symptoms, both
mental and physical, in the
adjunct treatment of cancer,
cardiovascular disease,
chronic pain, depression ,
anxiety disorders, and in
prevention in healthy adults
and children’’

12. Journal of the American Medical
Association
An editorial in the March
2016 issue advocated for
mind/body approaches to
be made available to
people suffering with
chronic low back pain
The editorial was a
response to a clinical trail
showing Mindfulness
Based Stress Reduction
had the biggest and
longest impact on chronic
low back pain (Cherkin et al
2016)

13. Journal of Neuroscience
• This study by Zeidan and co-workers in 2011
reported that using mindfulness reduced the
intensity of pain by 40% and the
unpleasantness of pain by almost 60%
• As Professor Mark Williams once said
‘Mindfulness is like discovering a whole new
class of drugs, but without any side effects’

14. Scientists have discovered…
The more you
practise, the
more you
benefit

15. So how is Mindful Medicine Unique?
We combine mindfulness
training and evidence
based health education
with 36 years of clinical
experience
• www.drnickpenney.com
• Dr Nick Penney PhD

16. Sarah’s story
"I know not to fight the pain; I don't ignore or
resent it – they're natural reactions but just not
healthy in the long run. The skills and ideas from
Dr. Penney have had a huge impact on my life I
can use them anywhere, anytime and for that I
can't thank him enough.” (Sarah suffers with a serious
autoimmune disorder)

17. Jocelyn’s Story
"I've tried many medical and alternative treatments
over the years, and the only thing that really works
is mindfulness," she says. "I believe my success has
come from changing my relationship with pain. It
doesn't have a scary label; it's just pain. Through
mindfulness practice, my mind now sings a new
tune. It's been life-changing in so many ways, and I
am eternally grateful to Dr. Penney for opening my
mind to what was possible.” (Jocelyn suffered with chronic pain,
anxiety and infertility, and had her first child late last year!)

18. Possibilities
Science teaches us that
the people with the most
to gain from mindfulness
get the most out of it. It
can change your life too!

19. Quote from Professor Mark Williams
‘Meditate as though your
life depends on it, for in
many ways it surely does;
for you will live the life
you have and live it as
though it truly matters’

20. Thank You!
‘I look forward to seeing you online and helping you
take the first steps towards your recovery!’
Dr Nick