Some of Fred's Favorite Websites

Association for Contextual Behavioral Science.  https://contextualscience.org/

  • Neither the title nor some of the components (contextualism, relational frame therapy) exactly roll off the tongue, but this s a very helpful website for professionals and the general public.  It is the principal portal for Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (“ACT”), which is among the cutting-edge incarnations of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT).  ACT is based on mindfulness (the “acceptance” part) and value-based life choices (the “commitment” part.  The website has educational resources for people who practice in the helping professions, and good articles and intriguing videos for all of us (see the ACT for the Public link). 
 
Calm.   https://www.calm.com/

  • Lovely video experiences of calming environments (mountain lake, rain on leaves, sunset beach, fireplace, summer meadow and others) and free 7-day mindfulness program with more extensive and advanced programs by modest subscription.
 
Center for Nonviolent Communication. http://www.cnvc.org/

  • Nonviolent communication as deep and compassionate listening to other people, “both a spiritual practice that helps us see our common humanity, using our power in a way that honors everyone's needs, and a concrete set of skills which help us create life-serving families and communities.”  Articles, links to films, directory of trainers and intriguing NVC smartphone apps to download.
 
Charter for Compassion.  https://charterforcompassion.org/

  • International initiative, begun by the winner of the 2008 TED prize.  A four-paragraph document, the Charter calls for honoring “the inviolable sanctity of every single human being, treating everybody, without exception, with absolute justice, equity and respect.”  And, in a timely voice, “To act or speak violently out of spite, chauvinism, or self-interest, to impoverish, exploit or deny basic rights to anybody, and to incite hatred by denigrating others—even our enemies—is a denial of our common humanity.”  The charter has garnered over 2 million online affirmations… Desmond Tutu, the Dalai Lama, Deepak Chopra, Eve Ensler and, well, 2 million others.  The website has lots of articles, exercises, “toolbox” for developing compassionate communities, including a nice section on spiritualty and community building.
 
Department of Family Medicine, University of Wisconsin.  www.fammed.wisc.edu/integrative

  • University of Wisconsin-Madison Integrative Medicine Program.  Very nice teaching modules and patient handouts (ADHD, Environmental Intolerances, GERD, Grief, Headaches, IBS, Low Back Pain, Meditation and others).
 
The Doctor Paradox.  http://thedoctorparadox.com/

  • “Rediscovering passion in health care.”  Site developed and maintained by a cardiologist trained in Ireland and practicing in the US.  Blog posts from a variety of people about resilience and well-being in health care.
 
Duke Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health http://www.spiritualityandhealth.duke.edu/index.html

  • Organized by Harold Koenig, the Center conducts and disseminates research and trains professionals to conduct research at the convergence of spirituality, theology and health. Comprehensive list of research articles posted, although without annotation.
 
ePhysicianHealth.com http://ephysicianhealth.com/ (appropriate url, right?)

  • Comprehensive health and wellness resource for physicians.  Nice modules on resilience, “relationship with self,” primary care, depression, weight, nutrition and fitness, disruptive behavior and others.   Some videos, good lists of resources.  Developed in Canada by team of clinicians, educators and web developers.
 
The Fetzer Institute   http://www.fetzer.org/

  • Michigan-based, internationally-prominent nonprofit encouraging the power of love and forgiveness in individuals and systems. Great audio and video collections… Desmond Tutu, Parker Palmer, and His Holiness the Dalai Lama, among many others. Significant print resources, including monographs on spirituality in community and public life, and on multidimensional instruments for measuring religiousness and spirituality in health research. 
 
The Forgiveness Web   http://www.forgivenessweb.com/

  • Comprehensive compilation of forgiveness resources… articles, books, videos, links. Good sub-sections; grief, self-forgiveness, sexual abuse, The Holocaust, among others. Extraordinarily touching “Apology Room,” where people anonymously post messages seeking forgiveness and affirming life change.
 
The George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health http://www.gwish.org/

  • Founded in 2001 by Christina Puchalski, MD, GWISH is involved with medical education, research, and interdisciplinary initiatives in spiritual care. Partners with the John Templeton Foundation on a number of projects, notably grants to medical education programs for spirituality curriculum development and a beginning Spirituality and Health Online Education and Resource Center (SOERCE). New multimedia guide to spiritual assessment, featuring the FICA spiritual history tool. 
 
Gratefulness.org www.gratefulness.org

  • Brother David Stiendl-Rast, OSB, is certainly one of the leading contemporary writers on the subject of gratitude. Website has articles, an inventory of gratitude practices, some lovely visual images, and not-to-be-missed “virtual candle-lighting” exercise.
 
Greater Good Science Center http://greatergood.berkeley.edu/

  • Subtitle, “The Science of a Meaningful Life.”  Mission: “The Greater Good Science Center studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.”  Articles, lots of videos from leading lights on core themes of gratitude, altruism, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, happiness and mindfulness.  Subscription option (free) for several-paragraph daily reflection that often presents nice summaries of state-of-the-art research.
 
 
The Happy MD.  https://www.thehappymd.com/

  • One might look for a more buttoned-down title, but it’s a good resource with posts on burnout, work/life balance, physician leadership, communicating with patients in challenging situations, and other topics.  Site coordinator is a family physician who left practice to devote time to online and personal coaching and consulting.
 
Health Progress http://www.chausa.org/HP/

  • Health Progress is a bi-monthly journal published by the Catholic Health Association of the United States. A publication venue for a large number of practical articles about spirituality and health care, leadership, and organizational culture. Searchable subject index for each issue, full-text available back to 1992.
 
Institute of Noetic Sciences www.noetic.org

  • IONS is a nonprofit organization that “conducts and sponsors leading-edge research into the potentials and powers of consciousness—including perceptions, beliefs, attention, intention, and intuition. The institute explores phenomena that do not necessarily fit conventional scientific models, while maintaining a commitment to scientific rigor.” The name “noetic” refers to “inner knowing” or “intuitive consciousness.” Research, electronic and print publications, events, retreat center. Searchable keyword index to full-text IONS publications from websites and journals.
 
  • Among the many pages of IONS material is a great resource that provides information on 19 energy healing modalities… EFT, Polarity Therapy, Tapas Acupressure Technique, Thought Field Therapy, and others.  See HERE.
 
Institute for Research on Unlimited Love http://www.unlimitedloveinstitute.org/

  • Website coordinated by Stephen Post, PhD, Professor, Department of Bioethics, Case School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve. Research summaries, articles, links about altruism, compassion and service.
 
Integrative Medicine for the Underserved.   www.im4us.org

  • National collaborative bringing together integrative medicine resources for underserved, socioeconomically-limited populations.
 
Kindspring.  http://www.kindspring.org/

  • “Small acts that change the world.”  Stories of kindness, suggestions organized by venue (friends and family, for the environment for the elderly, a work, public places etc.), 21-day challenge with kindness, gratitude and mindfulness.
 
National Institute for Civil Discourse.  https://nicd.arizona.edu/

  • NICD is a is a nonpartisan center, based at the University of Arizona, that engages conversation, research, and advocacy about constructive dialogue in public and private arenas.  It was begun as a collaborative effort in the Tucson community in the wake of the Gabby Giffords shootings.  Along with Ms. Giffords, its board of directors and advisors include Bill Clinton, Sandra Day O’Connor, Colin Powell, Robert Reich, Olympia Snowe, Scott Simon, and a remarkable collection of other people from government, business and charitable organizations. 
 
The NICD website and associated links (such as www.revivecivility.org) describe ongoing work in communities, churches and legislatures, and provides resources for joining conversations in a spirit of understanding and respectful dialogue.  An especially creative example is an automated text-messaging training program that helps to structure dialogue among friends or neighbors who hold divergent positions about important issues. 
 
NICABM: National Institute for the Clinical Application of Behavioral Medicine. http://www.nicabm.com/.

  • Leader in presenting programs and offering CE in mind-body-spirit medicine.  Articles, videos, blogs from some leading lights (Joan Borysenko, Larry Dossey, Bernie Siegel, Thomas Moore, Harold Koenig etc.), particularly with spirituality and healing, brain science, treating trauma, mindfulness meditation.  Full programs have fees, but as costs for CE go, it’s a pretty good bargain.
 
Portraits of Grief.  http://www.nytimes.com/pages/national/portraits

  • Faced with the decision about how to recognize the 9/11 victims, the New York Times decided to run non-traditional obituaries that would forgo the usual recitation of formal accomplishments in favor of celebrating something of the spirit and character of the people who perished.  A remarkable collection of anecdotes and images… a generous spirit, a prankster, a voice of calm, a great barbeque artist.  Searchable by name (including my colleague Frederick Rimmele III, MD) but best browsed.  Breaks your heart and lifts your soul. 
 
The Power of Forgiveness.  http://www.thepowerofforgiveness.com/index.html

  • Website named for and based on the award winning Martin Doblmeier film, which is a stunning presentation of stories of forgivensss along with commentary from leaders in clinical and community projects and social justice (Everett Worthington, Frederic Luskin, Elie Wiesel and others).  Film is available on Amazon (see HERE).  The website has a self-test and nice video and print resources. 
 
The Random Acts of Kindness Foundation. http://www.randomactsofkindness.org/

  • Resources, links, videos about kindness.  Great sections of kindness “ideas” and “stories,” presenting over 300 specific ways that readers have shared to express kindness.  For those of us who work with underserved and financially limited people, many of these ideas are easy to manage and cost little or nothing.

Rehabspot. https://www.rehabspot.com/treatment/spiritual/

  • Clearinghouse with information about addictions and options in treatment programs.  The page cited provides a nice overview of spiritual care in addictions treatment, with links to empirically-based sources.
  
Self-compassion.  http://self-compassion.org/

  • Kristin Neff’s website (she, along with Christopher Germer, has done the seminal research on self-compassion), featuring videos, descriptions of research, links to additional resources and numerous exercises to cultivate self-compassion.
 
Spirituality & Health   http://spiritualityhealth.com/

  • Website of the long-running Spirituality & Health magazine. Articles by prominent authors on soulful living… “body,” “soul,” and “earth.” Full-text content of current issues available a few weeks after publication, along with searchable full-text archives of past issues. Forums, eCourses, newsletter, self tests about spiritual well-being, gratitude, forgiveness and other subjects.
 
This I Believe   http://thisibelieve.org/

  • Inspired by 1950s radio program hosted by Edward R. Murrow, This I Believe is a nonprofit organization that solicits and distributes short essays about people’s core values that guide their daily living. Famous people, regular folk, many with extraordinarily compelling stories to tell. Published in book and CD format, the essays are most widely available as a weekly feature and podcast on NPR. Website has a “browse essays by theme” feature… creativity, kindness, hope, parenthood, etc.
 
University of Minnesota; Taking Charge of your Health and Well-Being. https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/

  • Very nice self-management for health and well-being.  Well-being assessment, and material to explore and enhance well-being with health, environment, community, security, relationships, and purpose.  List of over two dozen holistic therapies/practices with descriptions.
 
Values.com  https://www.values.com/

  • Presents dozens of personal values, with links to descriptions and touching short videos.  The site is moving to https://www.passiton.com/, which has more short videos and a searchable database of quotations about values and generous living.