Posts by Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD
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Mind–Body Intervention for Chronic Pain Benefits Adults 50 and Older
Massachusetts General Hospital researchers provide novel evidence that adults ages 50 and older with chronic pain benefit from a mind–body program designed to increase physical function—and show even greater benefits in pain and performance-based physical function than younger adults.
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Early Psychosocial Support Needed for Families of Patients Who Survive ICU Admission for Coma
Sarah M. Bannon, PhD, Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD, and colleagues describe in detail the co-occurring stressors experienced by family caregivers of patients with severe acute brain injury who have survived ICU admission for coma, highlighting the need for early psychosocial support to prevent chronic emotional distress.
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Editorial: Embracing a Biopsychosocial Approach to Brain Health
Ryan A. Mace, PhD, Victoria A. Grunberg, PhD, and Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD, urge interdisciplinary colleagues to embrace a biopsychosocial and developmental concept of brain health, shifting focus from treating symptoms to preventing neurological and psychiatric illnesses and promoting optimal brain functioning.
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Guided Psychosocial Interventions Needed for Couples Affected by Young-onset Dementia
Sarah M. Bannon, PhD, and Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD, of the Department of Psychiatry, and colleagues determined in interviews that patients with young-onset dementia and their spouses often describe negative coping strategies such as avoidance and overprotection, particularly shortly after diagnosis.
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Pilot Trial: Resiliency Intervention Feasible for Survivors of Critical Neurologic Illness, Family Caregivers
Ana-Maria Vranceanu, PhD, and Jonathan Rosand, MD, of the McCance Center for Brain Health, and colleagues showed in a pilot randomized trial that evidence-based resiliency training for patients with brain injury and family caregivers is feasible in the ICU/hospital setting.
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Cross-disciplinary Neuroscience Research at the Massachusetts General Hospital
Massachusetts General researchers presented work on psychosocial intervention development and testing for patients. Additional research focused on new technology-based assessment and treatment strategies to enhance patient care.
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Cyberchondria Increases Health Anxiety in Orthopedic Patients
Among patients presenting for orthopedic care, compulsive searching of the internet for medical information about the current condition (e.g., cyberchondria) was associated with greater intolerance of uncertainty and greater health anxiety.
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Building Resiliency in Patients and Caregivers to Guard Against Emotional Distress After Brain Injury
Massachusetts General Hospital's novel Neuroscience ICU program aims to prevent emotional stress after acute brain injury for patients and their primary caregivers.
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Most Hand Surgery Patients Support Reduced Opioid Prescribing
Practice-wide policies aimed at reducing the number of opioid pills available for misuse are likely to be well received by patients, according to a Massachusetts General Hospital survey.
Biography
Dr. Ana-Maria Vranceanu is the Founder and Director of the Integrated Brain Health Clinical and Research Program within the Department of Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital. She is also an Associate Professor at Harvard Medical School. She is the former Director of Behavioral Health Integration for the Behavioral Medicine Service and has developed multidisciplinary collaborations with medical practices within Mass General including The Neuroscience Intensive Care Unit, The Neurofibromatosis Clinic, The Pain Clinic, The Mild Closed Head Injury Clinic, the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary and the Department of Orthopedic Surgery. She is an expert in developing in person and live video skills interventions integrated within medical practices, to preserve health, promote recovery after surgery or injury and optimize management of chronic illness. She has served as Principal Investigator on more than 10 foundation or federally funded research grants. She has over 100 publications and has edited the "MGH Book of Behavioral Medicine". With her mentee Dr. Zale, she has developed the Psychiatry Academy course "Fundamentals of Behavioral Health Interventions" that teaches basic skills necessary in working with medical patients, to mental health providers, primary and specialty care doctors. Dr. Vranceanu has also developed the Integrated Brain Health Elective within the APA approved Clinical Psychology Internship program at Mass General/Harvard Medical School. Dr. Vranceanu has a particular interest in mentoring interns, postdocs, medical residents and junior faculty members, and has been recently awarded the Dorothy W. Cantor Leadership for Women in Psychology fellowship from the American Psychological Association.
Neuroscience Care at Mass General
Through a combination of unmatched expertise, creativity and compassion, Mass General Neuroscience relentlessly advances the fields of Neurosurgery, Neurology and Psychiatry to unleash our patients’ potential.