Osher center for Integrative Medicine OCIM
Integrative medicine aims to promote health and to counteract disease through the development and integration of evidence-based knowledge from different disciplines and traditions to complement established medicine.
Rigorous scientific methods are applied to evaluate mechanisms, treatment effects, efficiency, and use in society.
At the Osher center for Integrative Medicine, psychobiological perspectives are applied to investigate determinants of physical and mental well-being. The research is focused on basic science with emphasis on mechanisms for placebo, pain experience and self-rated health. Applied research on treatment may also occur, mainly focused on diffuse sickness symptoms such as pain.
In integrative medicine, conventional medicine can be combined with treatments or knowledge from alternative and complementary medicine, but with high standards for scientific evidence and evaluation. At the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine such work is mainly related to so called "Mind-Body Medicine", for example psychological treatment for pain or insomnia. Treatment related to other main areas of non-established care. All patient care is performed within research projects, and the center has no clinical practice of its own.
The Osher centre has been founded through a generous donation from the Osher Foundation. There are two additional Osher Centres worldwide, one in San Francisco and one in Harvard.
