As a University of Minnesota health professional student, you understand how we all come from a unique cultural, biological and spiritual background. But, whatever your perspective, it is the search for quality of life that is universal to all of us. At the Center for Spirituality & Healing, we promote optimal health by blending the best of modern, conventional healthcare with complementary and alternative healing practices. We accomplish this by teaching healthcare professionals about interconnectedness of body-mind-spirit and the vital roles that world culture and spirituality play in achieving optimal health and well-being.
The Center is a national leader in the field of complementary therapies and healing practices through its education, research, and outreach efforts. And as a student in one of the Academic Health Center's many schools and colleges, you are uniquely positioned to benefit from some of the nation’s top educators and programs in this burgeoning field.
In fact, as patient demand for holistic approaches to care continues to grow, supplementing your knowledge with integrative medicine is a wise, career enhancing move.
Enhance your education with our CSPH courses. Depending on your program of enrollment, you may be able to enhance your degree with a Graduate Minor or Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Complementary Therapies and Healing Practices. Refer to the section specific to your program of study on this page.For more information about our courses, minor or certificate programs, please call 612.624.5166 or email Carla.
The Center offers free online learning in integrative medicine to health professionals and students. Click here.
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Suggested Courses:
INMD 7577
Introduction to Complementary and Alternative Medicine
Elective for 3 & 4 year medical students
3 credits
Carolyn Torkelson, M.D.
The primary objective of this course is to increase student awareness and understanding of complementary/alternatives medicine (CAM). Provide an overview of Holistic Medicine identifying CAM modalities useful for integration into clincial practice. Participants have the opportunity to witness complementary practitioners working in their own clinical setting.
CSpH 5511
Interdisciplinary Palliative Care: An Experiential Course in a Community Setting
2 credits
Eric Anderson, M.D.
Multidisciplinary teams of course participants will partner with interdisciplinary community hospice teams and participate in the delivery of care to patients in a variety of settings. This course will also include a series of seminars, employing self-analysis and case studies to further the participants' appreciation of and expertise in palliative care.
CSpH 5405
Plants in Human Affairs
This 4 credit graduate intensive, led by renowned ethnopharmacologist Dr. Dennis McKenna and ethnobotanist Kathleen Harrison, is taught amongst the tropical and rare plants of Hawaii. The course will help participants to appreciate the process of ethnopharmacological drug discovery, the evolution of medicine and to develop a cross-cultural perspective on human interactions with drugs and toxins.
The Healer’s Art
1 Credit
This highly innovative, interactive, contemplative and didactic approach to enables students to perceive the personal and universal meaning in their daily experience of medicine. It is a discovery-based model that draws on humanistic and Jungian psychology, as well as formational and cognitive theory to help students Recognize and develop their potential as compassionate caregivers.