Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster
Historical Overview
Peggy Huddleston, a graduate of Harvard Divinity School, has taught mind-body techniques for 25 years. Her clinical work and research focus on the ways positive emotions and the human spirit enhance healing. By reducing stress and anxiety, patients facing surgery can proactively help their body heal more effectively – faster, using 23-50% less pain medication, and in a relaxed state.
Peggy Huddleston developed five steps to prepare for surgery using mind-body techniques. She is the author of Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster. Her book guides patients through five steps to prepare the body and mind for surgery. The book is used with a Relaxation CD which she designed. It is available as a CD and MP3 in English and Spanish and will soon be recorded in Dutch.
A new edition of her book was published in 2012. It updates the first edition published in 1996.
Several research studies show using Peggy Huddleston’s techniques improves the patient’s experiences during the entire surgical process, from first setting the appointment to recovery. If patients enter surgery tense and fearful, they compromise their body's power to heal. When patients utilize Peggy Huddleston’s five steps to prepare for surgery, they can create the biochemistry of healing, resulting in a more successful surgery and shorter recovery.
Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster is recommended in hospitals across the United States including, Brigham and Women's Hospital, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, in Boston, Massachusetts, NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City, Saint Francis Hospital in Hartford, Connecticut and Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara Medical Center in Santa Clara, California.
Treatment Method
Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster is based on mind-body techniques designed to prepare a patient for surgery on all levels – physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The techniques include relaxation, guided imagery, creating a support group, and using Healing Statements. These steps can be learned by reading the book and using the relaxation CD or by attending a group or private workshop. Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster workshops can be offered in person at hospitals and in private practices or virtually, over the phone or Skype, by nurses, social workers and other health care professionals trained and certified by Peggy Huddleston.
There are five steps to Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster:
- Calm preoperative jitters guided by the Relaxation CD or MP3. Feeling peaceful strengthens your immune system and creates the biochemistry that enhances healing.
- Visualize your recovery by turning worries into healing imagery.
- Surround yourself in the love of family and friends to feel calmer before surgery.
- Use “Healing Statements,” words spoken during surgery that reduce the use of pain medication by 23-50%.
- Meet an anesthesiologist before the day of the surgery to request an anesthesiologist or nurse in the operating room who will say the Healing Statements.
Research Studies and Results
Research shows that this method of surgical preparation helps patients significantly reduce anxiety, use 23-50% less pain medication, heal faster, and leave the hospital earlier.
A research study at The Lahey Clinc, a Tufts University School of Medicine teaching hospital, with 56 patients having colorectal surgery, who used Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster, had significantly less anxiety before surgery and healed faster, leaving the hospital 1.6 days sooner than those in the control group. By day two at home, they used 60% less pain medication, had significantly less depression and insomnia and had a significant improvement in patient satisfaction compared to the control group.
A research study at the New England Baptist Hospital, a Tufts University School of Medicine teaching hospital with 44 patients having total knee joint replacement documented those using Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster had significantly less anxiety before surgery and healed faster, leaving the hospital 1.3 days sooner than those in the control group.
In a research study with 21 hospitalized patients at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, a Harvard Medical School teaching hospital, findings showed patients who listened to Peggy Huddleston’s Relaxation twice a day for 20 minutes had a reduction in anxiety, used less medication for anxiety and had a healthy reduction in heart rate. Findings were published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine in March 2007.
Provider’s Training
Training to become certified to teach Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster workshops is available to everyone. Nurses and social workers in the US receive 13.5 CEUs.
To become certified, the interested instructor takes a two day training and certification program with Peggy Huddleston. This program can be completed in person or virtually via teleconference and watchingDVD’s. The training is based on her book, Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster: A Guide of Mind-Body Techniques and its companion Relaxation CD.
Attendees will learn to use mind-boy techniques to give four one-hour workshops:
- Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster Workshop
- Reduce Anxiety, Headaches, Migraines and Cure Insomnia Workshop
- Lessen Pain and Speed Healing Workshop
- Lessen the Side-Effects of Chemotherapy and Radiation Therapy Workshop
Credentials and Regulation Bodies
Anyone can practice the information that can be found in Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster.
To become certified to teach Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster workshops, the interested instructor takes a two day training and certification program with Peggy Huddleston.
Professional Associations
Currently, there is no professional association for this method of surgical preparation.
PricingPricing for a session with a Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster instructor can range from $60 to $150 per hour. Sessions can be conducted over the phone or Skype. Additionally, some hospitals offer this procedure for free to their patients in preparation for surgery. Inquire with your surgeon or anesthesiologist to see if your hospital offers it.