The Integrative Medicine Program at the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health is a collaboration with The Institute for Family Health, a network of 32 health centers in Brooklyn, the Bronx, Manhattan, and Dutchess and Ulster Counties in the Mid-Hudson Valley.
We join with the aspirations of all who seek to create a culture where each person feels seen, heard, and supported. For more about Mount Sinai’s commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion please visit Mount Sinai’s Office for Diversity and Inclusion site.
The core mission of the Integrative Medicine Program is to provide access to safe, cost-effective and evidence-based integrative primary care, with a focus on those who are medically underserved. Our education, health services and research initiatives all support this goal.
Education has always been an integral part of our program. Currently, our unique nine-month Interprofessional Program in Integrative Healthcare gives participants the knowledge base needed to effectively incorporate integrative approaches into their clinical practice and teaching activities.
We also partner with our colleagues throughout Mount Sinai Health System. As part of a large health system, we hope to bring together information on the wide-ranging clinical, educational and research initiatives on integrative approaches offered at Mount Sinai in order to create awareness, dialogue and opportunities for collaboration.
Principles of Integrative Medicine
Integrative medicine, as defined by the American Board of Integrative Medicine® (ABOIM) and the Consortium of Academic Health Centers for Integrative Medicine, is the practice of medicine that reaffirms the importance of the relationship between practitioner and patient, focuses on the whole person, is informed by evidence, and makes use of all appropriate therapeutic approaches, healthcare professionals, and disciplines to achieve optimal health and healing.
Specifically, these guiding principles include:
- A belief in the benefits of interprofessional collaboration and openness to new ideas and approaches that help achieve better health outcomes
- Partnering with patients in a context of open and honest communication and mutual respect
- Using the power of the therapeutic relationship to support the healing process and to co-design a treatment plan that matches patients’ preferences and abilities
- Seeking to understand and address the context of illness, healing and wellness including the social, psychosocial, environmental, community, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of the patient’s life
- Focusing on prevention, wellness and patient health education, emphasizing the role of patient participation and self-care in both healing and prevention
- Taking the time to focus on what is needed on a step by step basis, utilizing effective interventions that are natural and less invasive as the first line of treatment
Recognizing Faculty Achievements
Arya Nielsen, PhD - Assistant Clinical Professor at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Department of Family Medicine & Community Health.
Changing the culture of medicine through research, policy and dissemination
Dr. Nielsen is a pioneer in the field of Acupuncture and East Asian Medicine in the U.S. Her creativity, scholarship and leadership have had a far-reaching impact on its integration throughout the healthcare system. Read more