Guy H Montgomery, PhD
- PROFESSOR | Population Health Science and Policy
- PROFESSOR | Psychiatry
Specialty:
PsychologyResearch Topics:
Behavior, CancerDr. Montgomery is a clinical psychologist whose research, training, and clinical efforts are focused on improving patients’ quality of life associated with cancer and its treatment. In particular he is focused on developing and testing mind-body interventions to reduce the symptoms and side-effects associated with cancer and its treatment, such as including pain, nausea, and fatigue. His work recognizes that how we think (e.g., how we evaluate situations, our expectations about how we’ll react to medical treatment), and how we feel emotionally (e.g., anxiety, distress) can have profound effects on how we feel physically. His goal is to provide all cancer patients with the tools and skills they need to enhance their quality of life during the rigors of cancer treatment.
Dr. Montgomery holds three titles at ISMMS – Associate Professor in the Department of Population Health Science and Policy, Director of the Center for Behavioral Oncology, and Director of the Office of Postdoctoral Affairs. Dr. Montgomery also has a secondary appointment in the Department of Psychiatry and is the Director of Psychological Services at Mount Sinai’s Dubin Breast Center. He is a past president of the American Psychological Association’s Society for Psychological Hypnosis (Division 30), and a Fellow of the American Psychological Association. He received his Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Connecticut in 1995, completed a fellowship in Psycho-oncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in 1997, and received post-doctoral training in health economics at Columbia University. He has published more than 100 peer-reviewed empirical articles, and has received funding from the National Cancer Institute, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, and the American Cancer Society for his research and training efforts.
Dr. Montgomery is dedicated to mentoring and cancer education, as evidenced by his role as Faculty Director of Mount Sinai’s office of Postdoctoral Affairs, his work as a Principal Investigator of NCI R25E and T32 awards, his direct mentoring of pre- and post-doctoral fellows in behavioral oncology, his supervision of psychology externs, and his teaching in in Mount Sinai’s Graduate School.
Dr. Montgomery’s research work has been recognized not only in scholarly contexts (e.g., conferences, journals), but also in the national and international media. His work has been discussed in multiple media outlets, including: New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, ABC News, CBS News, and NPR.
Clinical Focus
- Adjustment Disorder
- Anxiety
- Claustrophobia
- Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Depression
- Dysthymia
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder
- Insomnia
- Panic Disorder
- Social Anxiety Disorder
Multi-Disciplinary Training Areas
Cancer Biology [CAB], Neuroscience [NEU]Education
PHD, uctsm
BA, State University of New York at Binghamton
PhD, University of Connecticut
Columbia Univeristy
Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (MSKCC)
Internship, Clinical Psychology, Baystate Mary Lane Outpatient Center
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2018
Training Program in Cancer Prevention and Control for Priority Populations -
2015
Hypnosis to reduce aromatase inhibitor (AI)-associated musculoskeletal pain (MSP) and to improve AI adherence: An RCT to explore clinical efficacy and cost effects -
2015
Cancer treatment retraumatization in sexual abuse survivors -
2015
Training providers in CBT plus Hypnosis - an evidence-based fatigue intervention
Behavioral Oncology
Dr. Montgomery’s research focuses on developing, testing and disseminating psychological and integrative interventions to reduce suffering related to cancer and its treatment. Critical findings are: 1) Through an RCT of breast conserving surgery patients, he and his group found that patients who received a brief presurgery hypnosis intervention needed less propofol and lidocaine during surgery; reported less pain intensity, pain unpleasantness, nausea, fatigue, discomfort, and emotional upset after surgery; and, cost the institution $772.71 less per patient than patients randomized to an attention control (empathic listening) group. 2) In an RCT of breast cancer radiotherapy patients, our group found that that a brief intervention including cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis (CBTH) reduced fatigue in patients during radiotherapy, and for up to six months following radiotherapy. Results support CBTH as a highly effective means for controlling and potentially preventing fatigue in breast cancer radiotherapy patients. 3) Dr. Montgomery is presently working to disseiminate this CBTH intervention by training psychosocial cancer care providers across the country in the intervention. This work is supported by the NCI R25E mechanism. 4) Throughout his program of research, Dr. Montgomery has demonstrated that response expectancies and emotional distress play important roles in the development of cancer patients’ treatment-related side effects (e.g., chemotherapy-related nausea, postsurgical quality of life). Current research efforts include a randomized controlled trial to study the use of a three-session hypnosis intervention (R01AT008762, NCT02657993) to reduce musculoskeletal pain and to improve medication adherence in breast cancer survivors prescribed aromatase inhibitors.
Overall, Dr. Montgomery’s program of research focuses on developing, testing, and disseminating the effects of behavioral medicine and integrative interventions on the lives of cancer patients and survivors. Through this work he hopes to improve the quality of life of individuals affected by cancer and its treatment.
The Integrative Behavioral Medicine Program
Montgomery GH, David D, Kangas M, Green S, Sucala M, Bovbjerg DH, Hallquist MN, Schnur JB. Randomized controlled trial of a cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis intervention to control fatigue in patients undergoing radiotherapy for breast cancer. Journal of Clinical Oncology 2014 Feb; 32(6): 557-563.
Montgomery GH, Schnur JB, Kravits K. Hypnosis for cancer care: over 200 years young. CA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians 2013 Jan; 63(1): 31-44.
Kangas M, Montgomery GH. The role of cognitive, emotional and personality factors in the experience of fatigue in a university and community sample. Psychology & Health 2011 May; 26 Suppl 1: 1-19.
Montgomery GH, Hallquist MN, Schnur JB, David D, Silverstein JH, Bovbjerg DH. Mediators of a brief hypnosis intervention to control side effects in breast surgery patients: response expectancies and emotional distress. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2010 Feb; 78(1): 80-88.
Montgomery GH, Schnur JB, Erblich J, Diefenbach MA, Bovbjerg DH. Presurgery psychological factors predict pain, nausea, and fatigue one week after breast cancer surgery. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management 2010 Jun; 39(6): 1043-1052.
Montgomery GH, Kangas M, David D, Hallquist MN, Green S, Bovbjerg DH, Schnur JB. Fatigue during breast cancer radiotherapy: an initial randomized study of cognitive-behavioral therapy plus hypnosis. Health Psychology 2009 May; 28(3): 317-322.
Kangas M, Bovbjerg DH, Montgomery GH. Cancer-related fatigue: a systematic and meta-analytic review of non-pharmacological therapies for cancer patients. Psychological Bulletin 2008 Sep; 134(5).
Montgomery GH, Bovbjerg DH, Schnur JB, David D, Goldfarb A, Weltz CR, Schechter C, Graff-Zivin J, Tatrow K, Price DD, Silverstein JH. A randomized clinical trial of a brief hypnosis intervention to control side effects in breast surgery patients. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 2007 Sep; 99(17): 1304-1312.
Montgomery GH, Bovbjerg DH. Presurgery distress and specific response expectancies predict postsurgery outcomes in surgery patients confronting breast cancer. Health Psychology 2004 Jul; 23(4): 381-387.
Montgomery GH, David D, Dilorenzo T, Erblich J. Is hoping the same as expecting? Discrimination between hopes and response expectancies for nonvolitional outcomes. Personality and Individual Differences 2003; 35(2): 399-409.
Montgomery GH, David D, Winkel G, Silverstein JH, Bovbjerg DH. The effectiveness of adjunctive hypnosis with surgical patients: a meta-analysis. Anesthesia and Analgesia 2002 Jun; 94(6): 1639-1645.
Montgomery GH, Bovbjerg DH. Specific response expectancies predict anticipatory nausea during chemotherapy for breast cancer. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 2001 Oct; 69(5): 831-835.
Montgomery GH, DuHamel KN, Redd WH. A meta-analysis of hypnotically induced analgesia: how effective is hypnosis?. The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis 2000 Apr; 48(2): 138-153.
Montgomery GH, Bovbjerg DH. The development of anticipatory nausea in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Physiology & Behavior 1997 May; 61(5): 737-741.
Montgomery GH, Kirsch I. Mechanisms of placebo pain reduction: An empirical investigation. Psychological Science 1996 May; 7(3): 174-176.
Physicians and scientists on the faculty of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai often interact with pharmaceutical, device and biotechnology companies to improve patient care, develop new therapies and achieve scientific breakthroughs. In order to promote an ethical and transparent environment for conducting research, providing clinical care and teaching, Mount Sinai requires that salaried faculty inform the School of their relationships with such companies.
Below are financial relationships with industry reported by Dr. Montgomery during 2022 and/or 2023. Please note that this information may differ from information posted on corporate sites due to timing or classification differences.
Other Activities: Examples include, but are not limited to, committee participation, data safety monitoring board (DSMB) membership.
- Babes-Bolyai University Cluj-Napoca; Fosanis GmbH; University of Michigan; University of Oslo; University of Valencia
Mount Sinai's faculty policies relating to faculty collaboration with industry are posted on our website. Patients may wish to ask their physician about the activities they perform for companies.
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