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In this issue: 2022 AIMA Conference  |   Events   |  Jobs  |  Latest research  |  Join AIMA 
JULY 2022
President's Report
Dear <<First Name>>,
I have been very fortunate to have recently been on holiday with family in the northern hemisphere, but I am now well and truly back to short, very wet days, a busy clinic with a significantly greater burden of viral illness than usual and the challenge of the post-viral health consequences that our community is experiencing. After two difficult years in health care there is, as yet, no reprieve…
 
I note that Australia’s health 2022, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare biennial report has recently been released and the statistics are a tribute to how our modern lives and environment are impacting on our health. It is not really ‘new’ news.
  • ½ of people 45yo and over are living with a chronic health condition
  • 1/3 of disease burden is due to preventable risk factors – smoking, physical inactivity and poor nutrition
  • Coronary Vascular disease and dementia are the leading causes of death
  • 2/3 adults are overweight or obese (and we are certainly seeing this mirrored in the youth)
  • 3/10 people do not get enough physical activity
  • <1/10 people consume the recommended amount of vegetables
  • 9 people died of suicide daily in 2000
  • Covid deaths 3 times higher in the lower socioeconomic areas
  • Long covid gets a mention with the effects to be felt for many years to come
  • >1/2 of suicide deaths are in people aged 30-59 and males are 3-4 times more likely to suicide
  • 1 in 2 adults have experienced mental health disorders in their lifetime, and there was a significant increase on average during the pandemic, especially in younger people.
As integrative medicine practitioners we know that these statistics are the tip of the iceberg and that there is an increasing burden of illness in our children and young people and many people are presenting with a heavy burden of illness but with no official diagnosis. Our public health system seems to be poorly equipped to reverse these trends and indeed the way that we have been trained to practice medicine cannot adequately address these issues, despite some positive headway in certain areas. It seems clear that evidence-based integrative medicine, and its inherent individualized patient-centred approach within a collaborative therapeutic team, has the capacity to address some of these issues. We clearly must look outside the box and understand each patient within their unique context and then work with a wider range of appropriate therapists and interventions to address the matrix of contributing factors that have been identified.
 
I have recently read an article on an NHS doctor, Dr Laura Marshall-Andrews, whose book, ‘What Seems to be the Problem’, describes her journey and the medical center that she created. This is a great example of changing the paradigm and addressing the issues identified in report above. Click here to read the article.
 
Dr Marshall-Andrews was working in the NHS and watching a health system that felt out of control, with the fragmentation of care creating floating patients, who bounce from service to service, becoming increasingly ill. Does this sound familiar? We know that many of these patients inevitably bounce back to their GPs or eventually arrive at the door of integrative doctors and therapists after months to years of inadequate management of their health issues. In the early 2000s Dr Marshall-Andrews started to notice patients unexpectedly responding to treatments that were outside the medical paradigm that she had been trained in. This opened her heart and mind to a different way of practising medicine and inspired her to open an innovative new surgery in an area with significant socio-economic challenges. This new center incorporates not only other integrative practitioners but a wide range of social prescribing that enables people to have the tools to improve their lives in order to become healthier. Un-surprisingly the outcomes of the patients attending her practice improved significantly. We clearly have some great practices and initiatives in Australia, but I always find it inspiring to hear success stories that illustrate the courage of a practitioner/leader to go beyond the limitations of the system to build a new and inspiring model of care.
  
In other AIMA news:
 
We have finally launched our online Interprofessional Communications Course, designed to build better communication between doctors and practitioners by equipping naturopaths and other practitioners with the background knowledge, framework and skills for writing formal letters to medical doctors. This is a very comprehensive course that is designed to enhance the collaborative team approach for both practitioners and patients.
 
And we are so excited to have launched ticket sales for our fully in-person 2022 AIMA conference, Friday 18th and Saturday 19th of November in Auckland. The theme is Optimising 21st-century healthcare; body, mind and spirit, with presentations from a host of charismatic and knowledgeable integrative medicine experts from around the world. Early bird discounts are available until Monday 1st of August. We envisage our wonderful Australasian community finally coming together, F2F, to celebrate our innovation, creativity, resilience and friendship. Book now and lock it in - prepare to be nurtured and stimulated!
 
Warmly,
Penny Caldicott
AIMA President
EARLY BIRD DISCOUNTS AVAILABLE NOW!
It's time to get together face-to-face and celebrate our wonderful community! Join us for the 2022 AIMA Conference on Friday 18th and Saturday 19th November 2022 at the Auckland University of Technology in central Auckland, New Zealand.

The AIMA Conference is the leading event for the integrative medicine community in Australasia.  A ‘must-do’ for all GPs, medical specialists, allied health practitioners, researchers, educators, students, and health professionals who want to learn about and understand how integrative medicine can be used to prevent and manage chronic and complex diseases.

The theme for 2022 is Optimising 21st-century healthcare; body, mind, and spirit and will include presentations from a host of charismatic and knowledgable integrative medicine experts from across the globe including keynote speakers:
  • Dr Iain McGilchrist (Scotland) sponsored by The Ashton Wylie Charitable Trust – renowned psychiatrist, author, thinker, and former Oxford literary scholar.
  • Dr Marc Cohen (Aus) – medical doctor, university professor, author, poet, entrepreneur, wellness trailblazer, and perpetual student of life.
Click here to see view all speakers.

Hosted at AUT, in Auckland’s vibrant city centre, the conference is a great opportunity to connect and network with speakers and like-minded practitioners whilst learning about the latest clinical and evidence-based information around integrative medicine. Full catering is provided as well as lots of useful information and advice from suppliers in the wellness industry.

Early-bird discounted tickets
AIMA Members $350
Non-members $450
Students $120

BOOK NOW to enjoy the early-bird discounts (available until 10 pm Monday 1 August 2022).
BOOK TICKETS NOW

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MORE EVENTS
AIMA invites all health practitioners interested in integrative mental health care approaches to join our next online Integrative Mental Health Group Meeting.
 
These regular meetings have been set up to help build community and collegiality for integrative medicine mental health doctors and practitioners and provide the opportunity to learn from peers and investigate integrative approaches to care.
 
When: Wednesday 20th July 6.30pm -7.30pm AEST, 8.30-9.30pm NZST
 
Topic: Emotional Freedom Techniques: The Current Science and Evidence and Australia Research with Dr Peta Stapleton
 
Register: This is a free event. Registration is essential. Click here to register for the zoom meeting.
 
The growing body of published research of EFT including Australian trials will be discussed throughout this presentation and the latest science and research will be presented. EFT is currently being evaluated against the APA Division 12 Taskforce Tolin criteria for listing on the evidence-based list of psychological treatments.

Dr Peta Stapleton is a registered clinical/health Psychologist and Associate Professor, Bond University (Australia) who embraces evidence-based and innovative techniques. Peta is a world-leading researcher in Emotional Freedom Techniques (‘Tapping’) and has been awarded many honors including 2019 Psychologist of the Year (Australian Allied Health Awards). Peta has authored The Science Behind Tapping: A Proven Stress Management Technique for the Mind and Body, which won Best Self-Help Book (2019 Best Book Awards, American Book Fest).

FACE-TO-FACE EVENT

'Exploring Medicinal Cannabis - An Experiential Learning Day' Our first face-to-face event in over 12 months! 

The International College of Cannabinoid Medicine (ICCM) and acnem are pleased to present a one-day interactive and practical learning experience for medical practitioners and pharmacists focused on medicinal cannabis. This is a wonderful, hands-on event not to be missed!

BRISBANE | Saturday 16 July 2022

MELBOURNE | Saturday 30 July 2022

BUY TICKETS NOW

Long COVID (Health Practitioner ONLY Event)
JUNE RELEASE of our living event is available on demand​
 

acnem brought together some of the best expertise from around the world for this Symposium relating to Long COVID with over 6 hours of presentations PLUS a special acnem panel addressing and distilling the advice and evidence from each of the presenters and areas of focus:

  1.  Definition, Diagnosis and Risk Factors
  2. Mechanisms and Pathophysiology
  3. Prevention
  4. Treatment and Management
  5. Mental Health and Social Justice

REGISTER NOW
BioCeuticals Clinical Mastery is delivered online across two consecutive weeks. Sessions provide end-to-end training covering conceptual framework and clinical application. Earn CPD (1hr p/week) and join for $29 for both sessions.
 
In the July masterclass, Clinical Psychologist Dr Adrian Lopresti will review the interconnection between poor sleep, immunity, stress, and mental and physical health; and psychological, biological, lifestyle and environmental causes of sleep disturbances. Assessment tools to help practitioners identify causes of poor sleep will be covered, and evidence-based treatment options for insomnia will be covered. These include a review of psychological, pharmaceutical, dietary, lifestyle, and nutraceutical options that target individualised causes of sleep disturbances in our patients.
 
The August masterclass with Dr Janet Schloss is a 60-minute session that focuses on the evidence-based approaches which assist people who have completed cancer treatment by covering the effective physical, emotional, psychological, psychosocial and lifestyle treatment options available for patient-led care and how to implement them.
Many cancer survivors will experience late and long-term side effects as a result of their treatment and/or their cancer. Natural and integrated medicine practitioners can play an essential role in the recovery and post-treatment of people who have completed cancer treatment.

To find out more go to https://www.bioceuticals.com.au/clinical-mastery

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Lifestyle Medicine 2022
Friday 29 – Sunday 31 July 2022
 
The Australasian Society of Lifestyle Medicine is thrilled to announce the return of their annual Lifestyle Medicine conference, Lifestyle Medicine 2022! This premium ‘boutique’ conference event will take place at the Pullman International Hotel in Cairns, Australia from 29-31 July, and is designed to bring together medical and health professionals from a range of disciplines to explore the latest translational research and clinical application of Lifestyle Medicine.
 
With an overarching theme of ‘The evolution of practice’, this year’s event will focus on innovation and translation of evidence in:
  • Clinical practice
  • Prevention and policy
  • The community and workplace.
Join us at Lifestyle Medicine 2022 to gain practical skills in Lifestyle Medicine application, network with like-minded professionals, and help advance the global Lifestyle Medicine movement for change!
 
Click here to register.
 
Both in-person and virtual attendance options are available.
NMHNZ Conference – 6-7 August 2022 (online)

This year our theme is Seek to Thrive, how Naturopathy & Herbal Medicine can help shape our future.

We’ve got a great selection of speakers, from academics to clinicians, breakout sessions, panel discussions, and more. We’re running two streams to accommodate all our speakers, with recordings available to all registered attendees.  Breakfast Sessions and Keynote speakers on both days with the latest information, research, and clinical results. There’s definitely something for everyone. Earlybird pricing ends on 15th July 2022.

Conference website: https://conference.naturopath.org.nz/
 
 
An event exclusively for all health professionals who have an interest, or are working in the field of neurofibromatosis (NF).

Following on from the success of the 2020 sell-out event, the Children’s Tumour Foundation welcomes you to a full day event showcasing both Australian and international speakers sharing their knowledge of NF.

Together we will explore medical advancements, and gain exclusive insight into the current Australian projects, paving the way for a brighter future for all people living with NF. Hear from international guest Prof. Gareth Evans (University of Manchester) on managing NF2.
  
To allow people to attend from anywhere in Australia or around the world, we will also be streaming the event live for registered participants.  However, those attending in person, are also invited to attend an important networking event after the Symposium.

Notable speaker profiles are available on the website and the full agenda will be available soon. Visit http://www.ctf.org.au/nfsymposium
 

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HAPPY ANNIVERSARY TO
THE ART OF HEALING
We’d like to congratulate Cate Mercer and her team at The Art of Healing on their 20th Anniversary this year!

The Art of Healing is a media company that provides integrated media solutions to the natural healthcare industry.  Its quarterly print and digital magazine is published independently in Australia and aims to assist readers to become more self-empowered and responsible when making health decisions. All articles and imagery produced in The Art of Healing are contributed by many leaders in their fields of expertise, in a range of natural health modalities as diverse as herbal medicine, kinesiology, reiki, yoga, meditation, TCM, massage, naturopathy, Ayurvedic medicine, energetic healing, art and music therapy – to name a few.

The aim is that by producing these articles, the reader is provided with an example of what constitutes a holistic and balanced approach that includes the physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, social and environmental aspects of wellbeing.

We wish Catherine and her team all the best for the next 20 years!!

Take a look at what's in the latest issue here.
JOBS & LISTINGS


Seeking women's health and wellbeing practitioners for Sydney Specialist Medical Collective, Paradigm & Co.

Join Our Practice
At Paradigm & Co, we understand that there is a need for a multidisciplinary approach, within the conventional and the complementary, for women who are living with chronic conditions.
Chronic conditions are complex and multifactorial, and hence one solution is not adequate. Along with providing specialist pharmaceutical and minimally invasive surgical management, complementary approaches are used whenever possible to promote long-lasting results, optimal health, and wellbeing.

We are seeking practitioners to join our practice, who provide mental or physical healthcare and wellbeing services to women. The ideal candidate will be required to work both within the team, and independently seeing their existing clients and patients at our practice. We seek professionals with at least 5 years experience in their current field.

Here at Paradigm & Co., the well-being of our team members is one of our main priorities. We promote a positive work culture and healthy work/life balance. Quarterly team dinners and staff discounts for services are a nice incentive. We look forward to reviewing your resume. Thank you, visit us at paradigmco.com.au
RESEARCH SNIPPETS

"Psilocybin Effective Up to 12 Weeks in Severe Depression

A single dose of a synthetic formulation of psilocybin provides rapid improvement in treatment-resistant  depression, with benefits sustained for up to 12 weeks, according to results from the largest randomized controlled study of psilocybin to date.

Long used as psychedelic ‘magic mushrooms,’ psilocybin has gained increased interest in psychiatry in recent years as a potential treatment for severe depression after showing benefits in patients with life-threatening cancers and others with major depressive disorder (MDD)."

To view the full Medscape article by Nancy A. Melville, click here. 

"Cannabis may relieve pain as effectively as opioids, but more research is needed

Cannabis-based products may control chronic pain as effectively as opioids, but adverse effects are common, and long-term safety remains unknown, according to a new study.

Several other systematic reviews have recently evaluated cannabinoids for treating chronic pain, but the new study’s methodology was “distinct” in “important ways,” leading to “conclusions that differ from other reviews,” according to the authors of the paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine."

To read the full article by Will Pass in MDEdge click here.

To read the study published in The Annals of Internal Medicine, click here.
JOIN AIMA TODAY!

Not an AIMA member? Join now and help us to push integrative medicine forward!

Memberships enable us to build a strong integrative medicine community that is united, recognised, supported, and informed. We rely on memberships to survive and to support our goals, which are to:

  • bring integrative medicine into the mainstream
  • foster true collaborations between doctors and practitioners
  • build a lively and engaged integrative medicine community
  • support and advocate for integrative practitioners and integrative medicine through the power of a collective voice.

AIMA Membership provides a raft of benefits including:

  • Free subscription to our Monthly AIMA e-Newsletter
  • Discounted tickets to informative, fun, and inspiring AIMA Events
  • Certificate of Membership (on request)
  • One year subscription to Advances in Integrative Medicine (AIMED)  - our international peer-reviewed, evidence-based research and review journal 
  • Having your say to help shape the future of integrative medicine
  • Access to education and professional development     
  • Benefitting from the power of a collective voice advocating the goals of integrative medicine            
  • Networking and support                    

 
JOIN AIMA
Disclaimer: The information contained in this newsletter is intended to provide accurate and helpful health information for the general public. The information should not be considered complete and does not cover all diseases, ailments, physical conditions and/or their treatment. It should not be used in place of a call or visit to a medical, health or other competent professional, who should be consulted before adopting any of the suggestions in this newsletter or drawing inferences from it. Please note that the views expressed within are the presenters own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Australasian Integrative Medicine Association.

 
Copyright © 2022 AIMA, All rights reserved.


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