Barry
Bittman, MD is a neurologist, author, international speaker, award-winning
producer/director and inventor. As CEO and Medical Director of the Mind-Body
Wellness Center, a comprehensive, interdisciplinary outpatient medical
facility in Meadville, PA., Dr. Bittman has pioneered a new paradigm for
treating the “whole person.” Based upon extensive research,
he developed
Insights
for Living Beyond Cancer with Bernie Siegel, MD, a program that integrates
the power of mind, body and spirit with conventional medical care. Dr.
Bittman has also created similar programs for individuals facing the challenges
of asthma, cardiovascular disease, chronic lung disease and diabetes.
His
medical perspectives, emphasizing a mind-body approach have been presented
in his book, Reprogramming Pain, written to help individuals transform
pain and suffering into health and success. His latest book, Maze
of Life, co-authored with Anthony DeFail, is a soul-searching parable
about restoring hope, meaning and purpose amidst life’s challenges.
As the host of the first nationally-syndicated integrative medicine weekly
Public Radio program, Mind-Body
Matters, Dr. Bittman interviewed 115 of the world's leading visionaries.
His program featured cutting-edge in-depth perspectives that scientifically
substantiate the integration of complementary approaches into conventional
healthcare. Dr. Bittman's more than 250 articles on a host of integrative
medical topics have been published in his newspaper column, Mind
Over Matter.
Based
upon his commitment for shaping the future of cancer care in traditional
medicine, Dr. Bittman served as a board member of the American Cancer
Society at the state level for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He is
also CEO of ECaP, Exceptional Cancer Patients, an organization founded
by Bernie Siegel, MD in 1978 dedicated to providing retreats, training
for health professionals, resources and information for individuals facing
the challenges of cancer and other chronic illnesses.
Dr.
Bittman has been awarded three patents for his invention, Mindscope®,
introduced in 1992 as the world’s first clinical tool linking the
nervous system to a multimedia environment. Bittman’s innovative
biofeedback technology has been successfully utilized in clinical settings
throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. A customized application was also
incorporated into the training program of U.S. National Figure Skating
Champion, Tonia Kwiatkowski.
Dr.
Bittman's "whole person" approach has been featured in numerous
leading publications throughout the world, including USA Today, Business
Week, Time, Prevention, Discover, O (Oprah Magazine), the New York Times,
the San Francisco Chronicle, the Washington Post, Scientific American,
Men's Fitness, Health magazine, Spirituality & Health, New Age Journal,
Self magazine and numerous other leading publications.
In
1995 Dr. Bittman began TouchStar
Productions, a company dedicated to providing evidence-based resources
to help individuals harness their inner healing potential as a complementary
approach to traditional healthcare. With an emphasis on Psychoneuroimmunology,
the medical discipline that studies the interaction between emotions,
nervous system, endocrine system and immune system function, TouchStar’s
initial releases (available through select distributors in the US and
Canada) feature multimedia journeys through nature with introductions
by world-renowned authors. SmithKline Beecham, one of the world’s
leading pharmaceutical companies, is distributing TouchStar’s self-help
program entitled Affirmations For Getting Well Again, to cancer specialists
throughout the nation. Affirmations for Getting Well Again also won the
coveted first place awards in the Wellness and Cinematography categories
from among 632 entries at the 1997 American Medical Association’s
International Health and Medical Film Festival in San Francisco.
Based
on his conviction that Recreational Music-making is an effective therapeutic
strategy in conventional medical settings, Dr. Bittman led a team of researchers
who investigated the biological effects of the HealthRHYTHMS
group drumming protocol he co-developed. This foundational study (Alternative
Therapies, Jan. 2001) correlated group drumming with increased activity
of Natural Killer cells, specialized white blood cells that seek out and
destroy cancer cells and virally-infected cells.
Along
with Karl T. Bruhn, acknowledged as "Father of Music Making and Wellness,"
his research team also demonstrated substantial reductions in burnout
and mood disturbances in long-term care workers, as well as significant
cost savings using a Recreational Music-making protocol (Advances in
Mind-Body Medicine, November 2003). A similar approach was also shown
to benefit nursing students (The International Journal of Nursing Education
Scholarship, July 2004).
With
a focus on the aging continuum, Dr. Bittman led a team of researchers
to document the impact of Recreational Music-making in the long-term care
continuum. His extensive compilation of data from two long-term care centers
documented multiple psychosocial benefits across the aging spectrum (Provider,
Nov. 2004).
Dr.
Bittman's latest research, a 2-phase study demonstrated for the first
time that playing a musical instrument reverses multiple elements of the
human stress response on the genomic level (Medical
Science Monitor Feb. 2005). His team included researchers from
Loma Linda University School of Medicine and Applied Biosystems, the developer
of the original technology that led to the successful mapping of the human
genome announced in June, 2000. Stress-reduction was far greater for individuals
participating in their first group keyboard lesson (Yamaha's Clavinova
Connection) than for subjects who simply relaxed and read newspapers and
magazines. In addition, the researchers introduced the concept of individualized
genomic stress induction signatures, which uniquely demonstrate biological
diversity in action.