Overview
The Wellness and Preventive Medicine department defines Wellness as the active pursuit of optimal physical, emotional, social, and spiritual health. The department consists of three key centers: Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine (CILM), Center for Functional Medicine (CFM), and Center for Research and Training.
Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine combines the best of modern medicine with evidence-based complementary approaches to prevention and healing.
Functional medicine is a systems-based medical practice focused on root cause analysis and evidence-based therapies such as nutrients as medicine, aligned with the patient’s goals of care.
The Center for Research and Training is committed to rigorous research to determine effectiveness, safety, and implementation of therapies and practices for prevention and healing.
Mission, vision, and core values
Misson: Be a catalyst and strategic partner across the global Cleveland Clinic Enterprise to advance patient, caregiver, community, and organizational wellness.
Vision: Wellness for the entire Cleveland Clinic family - our patients, caregivers, communities, and organization.
Core values: In addition to Cleveland Clinic’s core values of Quality and Safety, Empathy, Teamwork, Integrity, Inclusion and Innovation, the Department of Wellness & Preventive Medicine services, programs, and initiatives prioritize evidence-based medicine and wellness equity.
Community initiatives
Wellness equity will occur when everyone has a fair and just opportunity to attain their highest level of wellness. Our Wellness and Preventive Medicine team is committed to efforts that will drive wellness equity in our communities. We have several initiatives in the community, such as free community yoga classes and frequent healthy cooking demonstrations and are always looking to expand. Please contact CILM@ccf.org with any inquiries about collaboration in our community.
Referring a patient to Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland Clinic’s Guide for Referring Physicians is a comprehensive directory of our specialty staff physicians and was created to help you identify specialists and resources at Cleveland Clinic to support you and your patients. Click here to request a guide. Cleveland Clinic providers can refer patients to any of the services offered by the Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine by placing an order in EPIC "Consult to Wellness" and choose the service you are referring to on a drop-down box. Outside providers should call 216.448.4325.
Career opportunities
We are always interested in having new motivated and skilled clinicians join our team who are committed to wellness, prevention and our core values. Please send your interest and information to CILM@ccf.org. Job announcements are always kept up to date on the careers section of our website.
Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine
Programs and offerings
- Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine consultations with physician.
- Osteopathic neuromusculoskeletal medicine.
- Chiropractic.
- Nutrition.
- Acupuncture.
- Massage therapy.
- Holistic psychotherapy.
- Holistic pain management.
- Yoga.
- Culinary medicine.
- Chinese herbal medicine.
- Esselstyn program.
- Shared medical appointments.
Center for Functional Medicine
Programs and offerings
- Functional medicine physicians and advanced providers.
- Medical timeline and root cause analysis.
- Advanced testing when appropriate.
- Nutrient support.
- Health coaching.
- Nutritional services including registered dietitian counseling.
- Holistic Psychotherapy.
- Shared medical appointments:
- Women’s health.
- Get functional (lifestyle and weight management).
- Digestive disorders.
Center for Research and Training
Mission: Conduct rigorous and innovative research of non-pharmacological interventions for mental and physical well-being. Provide top-notch clinical research training for promising junior scholars.
Vision: To improve mental and physical well-being at the population level by establishing an evidence base for Wellness interventions that will inform inclusive policies and guidelines for standard of care practice and treatments that are reimbursable and accessible and affordable for all.
Team members
Program Director
Admin:
- Aryn Scibona.
- Syliva Wise.
- Linda Libertini.
- Devyn Gaskins.
Investigators:
- Chelsea Siwik, PhD.
- Hallie Tankha, PhD.
- Jacob Hill, ND, MS, FABNO.
Recent publications
Okafor, GN, Ford, BQ, Antonoplis, S…Shallcross, AJ. Measuring Mindfulness in Black Americans: A Psychometric Validation of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Mindfulness 14, 565–581 (2023). https://doi-org.ezproxy.med.nyu.edu/10.1007/s12671-023-02072-0
Pham TV, Doorley J, Kenney M, Joo JH, Shallcross AJ, Kincade M, Jackson J, Vranceanu AM. Addressing chronic pain disparities between Black and White people: a narrative review of socio-ecological determinants. Pain Manag. 2023 Aug;13(8):473-496. doi: 10.2217/pmt-2023-0032. Epub 2023 Aug 31. PMID: 37650756; PMCID: PMC10621777.
Shallcross AJ, Duberstein ZT, Sperber SH, Visvanathan PD, Lutfeali S, Lu N, Carmody J, Spruill TM. An Open Trial of Telephone-Delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Efficacy for Reducing Depressive Symptoms. Cogn Behav Pract. 2022 May;29(2):280-291. doi: 10.1016/j.cbpra.2020.12.004. Epub 2021 Feb 10. PMID: 35903539; PMCID: PMC9328416.
Shallcross AJ, Hill J. Chapter 51-Mindfulness Interventions in the Handbook of Emotion Regulation, Third Edition. Edited by Gross JJ, Ford BQ. Jan 2024. ISBN 1462553036
https://www.guilford.com/books/Handbook-of-Emotion-Regulation/Gross-Ford/9781462549412/contributors
Hill JD, Schmucker AM, Siman N, et al. Household Income and Older Adult Population Predict Number of Integrative Medicine Providers Around US Hospitals: An Environmental Scan Study. Glob Adv Health Med. 2022;11:1-10. doi:10.1177/2164957X221121077
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10.1177/2164957X221121077?src=getftr
Lucius K, Hill J. Combining immunotherapy and natural immune stimulants: mechanisms and clinical implications. J Cancer Res Clin Oncol. 2019;145(10):2633-2635. doi:10.1007/S00432-018-02830-X
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6650376/
Siwik, C.J., Adler, S.R., Moran, P.J., Kuyken, W., Segal, Z., Felder, J., Eisendrath, S. & Hecht, F.M. (2023). Preventing Depression Relapse: A Qualitative Study on the Need for Additional Structured Support Following MBCT. Global Advances in Integrative Health and Medicine, 12, 27536130221144247.
Siwik, C.J., Phillips, K., Litvan, I., Rodgers, A., Jablonski, M.E., & Sephton, S.E. (2022). A pilot randomized controlled trial investigating MBSR for Parkinson’s disease patients and their caregiving-partners: Effects on distress, social support, cortisol, and inflammation. Mindfulness, 13(5), 1271-1280.
Siwik, C.J., Cash, E., & Sephton, S.E. (2022). Depressive symptoms and shorter survival in lung cancer: The role of leukocyte telomere length. Psychology & Health, 38(12), 1649-1664.
Tankha, H., Pester, B. D., Brumley, K. M., Caño, A., Tong, S., Grekin, E., Bruinsma, J., Gootee, J., & Lumley, M. A. (2023). A mixed methods investigation into the us versus them mentality in Facebook groups for chronic pain. Health Psychology, 42(7), 460–471. https://doi.org/10.1037/hea0001289
Tankha, H., Lumley, M. A., Gordon, A., Schubiner, H., Uipi, C., Wager, T. D., & Ashar, Y. K. (2023). “I don't have chronic back pain anymore”: Patient experiences in Pain Reprocessing Therapy for chronic back pain. The Journal of Pain, 24(9), 1582–1593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpain.2023.04.006
Wexler RS, Fox DJ, ZuZero D, et al. Virtually-Delivered Mindfulness-Oriented Recovery Enhancement (MORE) Reduces Daily Pain Intensity in Patients with Lumbosacral Radiculopathy: A Randomized Controlled Trial. PAIN Reports. Published online (in-press).
Wexler RS. Protocol for mindfulness-oriented recovery enhancement (MORE) in the management of lumbosacral radiculopathy/radiculitis symptoms: A randomized controlled trial. Contemporary Clinical Trials Communications. Published online 2022.
Current studies
If you are interested in participating in a study, please email wellnessresearch@ccf.org.
| Study | Principal Investigators | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| Bringing healthy meals and nutrition education to underserved communities: a randomized pilot implementation trial. | Amanda J. Shallcross, ND, MPH Co-Investigator: James E. Carter, Jr., MD |
This study is funded by the American Heart Association and is designed to understand how to address food injustice in minoritized communities at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). We will test the feasibility and implementation of medically tailored meals vs. medically tailored meals plus nutrition education and shared medical appointments vs. a wait-list control group. Participants will be recruited from Cleveland Clinic’s South Pointe Hospital in Warrensville Heights, a predominantly Black community with low food security and high CVD morbidity. This study will advance understanding of inclusive participant recruitment, retention, engagement, satisfaction, and short-term changes in eating behavior and clinical biomarkers in two innovative and scalable Food is Medicine interventions. |
| TEAM-M (Treatment of Migraine and Mood) | Amanda J. Shallcross, ND, MPH | This is an NIH-funded study to evaluate the fidelity, feasibility, and acceptability of remote-delivered (telephone and video) mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) for people with migraine disability and depressive symptoms. The project is a multi-site study that is recruiting patients from The Cleveland Clinic, Einstein School of Medicine, and Wake Forest School of Medicine. |
| Yoga Mat | Robert Saper, MD, MPH | This is an NIH-funded, multi-site, randomized controlled trial that will enroll 192 participants combined between sites. The purpose of the research is to understand how to help people with chronic pain on medication-assisted treatment (MAT) attend video-based yoga classes and have a personal yoga practice. Participants will be patients enrolled in methadone or buprenorphine/naloxone treatment with chronic pain and aged 18 or over. |
| Barriers and facilitators to use of web-based Tai Chi for knee osteoarthritis in large healthcare systems | Robert Saper, MD, MPH | This is an NIH-funded qualitative study to identify multilevel (patient, clinician, Tai Chi instructor, and health system leadership/staff) barriers and facilitators to embedding a remote Tai Chi intervention in four healthcare systems (HCS). The study team is using remote in-depth interviews (via Teams) to gather qualitative data of four HCS that will inform the design and execution of a pragmatic randomized trial of remote Tai Chi for knee osteoarthritis (OA) intended to contribute to more widespread adoption of Tai Chi for knee OA across HCS. |
| BE WELL: Behavioral Enhancing Wellness Program (BE-Well): A Mindfulness-Based Intervention for African American Hypertensive Patients | Amanda J. Shallcross, ND, MPH Tawanda Greer-Medley, PhD |
The goal of this study is to test an 8-week intervention that combines lifestyle change (e.g., eating behavior) with mindfulness-based stress reduction for Black hypertensive patients. This randomized controlled pilot project will test the BE-WELL intervention compared to enhanced treatment as usual for patients seen at Cleveland Clinic's Langston Hughes Community Health & Education Center. |
Media
- The New York Times (April 2023)
- "Lean Into Negative Emotions. It’s the Healthy Thing to Do."
- Crain's Cleveland (Sept 2023)
- "More – and more diverse – studies needed to unlock integrative medicine’s potential"
Educational Opportunities
Learning objectives
Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine:
Most of the chronic health conditions globally are lifestyle-driven, yet most clinicians receive little training in lifestyle interventions. Many patients seek complementary medicine modalities, which are rarely discussed in conventional medicine training. Through various platforms, learners will achieve the following objectives:
- Help patients identify specific lifestyle choices that impact their health concerns and be able to make individualized lifestyle recommendations that are evidence-based, focusing on the following four domains: Nutrition, Stress, Sleep and Exercise.
- Understand indications, potential benefits, risks, and the evidence behind complementary medicine modalities.
- Understand the potential benefits, risks, and the evidence behind supplement use.
Functional Medicine:
- Incorporate systems-based medical education for undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate multi-disciplinary learners.
- Promote interdisciplinary collaboration.
- Enhance systems-thinking medical decision-making using evidence-based guidance.
- Support team-based learning and professional identity formation/growth.
Grand rounds
Wellness Virtual Grand Rounds are held every 2nd Tuesday of the month from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and cover a variety of topics. Currently, CME accreditation is available for Cleveland Clinic physicians only. Additionally, the Center for Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine and the Center for Functional Medicine can provide speakers for invited lectures, seminars, and grand rounds on a diverse range of topics.
Medical student rotations
We invite medical students from local, regional, national, and international institutions to rotate in either of our center. All interested students will use an application process and be considered to fulfill program capacity.
- Local: we have opportunities for our local students from Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University and Ohio University students.
- Other opportunities available include: chiropractor, massage, holistic psychotherapy internships and acupuncture rotations available.
Residency electives
We invite residents from primary care specialties to apply for elective rotations.
Shadowing
Shadowing opportunities to give a brief introduction to integrative, lifestyle and functional medicine can be arranged for graduate medical education learners in primary care and specialty care.
Special program learners
- Obesity fellows rotate through lifestyle medicine.
- Additional opportunities can be crafted to suit the needs of the learner.
Physicians looking to enhance their attitudes, knowledge, and skills in Wellness & Preventive Medicine are welcome to arrange for a tailored education experience by contacting CILM@ccf.org.
ONMM Residency Program
The Osteopathic Neuromusculoskeletal Medicine Clinic (ONMM) team provides functional and biomechanical evaluation and management for patients in our community.
For more information on our educational opportunities, please contact CILM@ccf.org.
Wellness Retreats
The Wellness and Preventive Medicine department can provide a spectrum of Wellness services to other institutes and organizations:
- Full or half-day retreats.
- CME presentations.
- Event speakers.
- Wellness minutes at staff meetings.
- Yoga or other wellness activities.
Pricing and offerings can be tailored to meet your team needs, please contact CILM@ccf.org for more information.
