Podcast: Dr. Daniel Monti and Pat Croce Discuss How Mind, Body and Spirit Impact One’s Health

On June 16 and 17, the University’s Marcus Institute of Integrative Health will host its fourth annual Advances in Mind-Body Medicine conference to examine the emerging topic of how mind, body and spirit play important roles in one’s health.

At the helm of the event – led by the first-ever Department of Integrative Medicine and Nutritional Sciences at a medical school in the United States – is Dr. Daniel A. Monti, the department’s chair and the institute’s founding director and chief executive officer.

In this episode of The Nexus Podcast, we speak with Dr. Monti about topics that experts will cover at the conference, including brain health, stress and immune health, mindfulness-based interventions and advanced mind-body strategies for specialized populations.

“An important focus is the tremendous effects of stress, mental health and spiritual health on the rest of health,” says Dr. Monti. “In a way, we’ve put them in these discreet buckets or compartments that I’m not sure they really belong in because we’re one integrated system. Paying attention to the mind part of health is something that’s important to me. The field has been sorely under-recognized in conventional medicine.”

We also converse with a keynote speaker and panelist whose name will be very familiar to listeners: Pat Croce. While Croce may be best known for his earlier life roles as a popular (and energetic) physical therapist and president of the Philadelphia 76ers during the team’s Allen Iverson era, he found himself on a path toward becoming more mindful and introspective even before a 2020 diagnosis of T cell lymphoma.

Croce notes that his spirituality isn’t as newly found as some may think.

“Once you know who you truly are, not only does the mind become a weapon for healing, but instead of it abusing you, you use it to expand your health, to expand the harmony between you and others,” says Croce. “I just feel the body, mind, spirit triangle has been overlooked and from Dr. Monti and his group, (I’ve learned that) it’s an innovative medicine approach that I’ve realized myself.”

As related to the conference, continuing education and credentialing credits are available for physicians, psychologists, nurses and other healthcare professionals. Also from an academic perspective, the conference is in line with topics covered in the Institute for Emerging Health Professions’ MS in Integrative Health Sciences and the Integrative Nutrition Advanced Practice Certificate.

For more info about the conference or to register, email IntegrativeMedEd@jefferson.edu or visit here.