ICAR M.S. Student and Staff Member, Mike Giusti
The beauty of ICAR lies in its diversity of interests. As a Masters student Mike Giusti is focusing on how mind-body medicine and mindfulness techniques can be applied to conflict resolution. He started developing an interest in spiritual, metaphysical, and holistic philosophies as a junior in college and recently became involved in the practice of mind-body medicine. When asked why, Giusti responded, “Because it is a field in which all of my interests converge as tools in helping people.”
In today's fast paced world the whole individual is often overlooked. This fact necessitates the training of conflict resolution practitioners in mind-body medicine techniques. This is especially vital in post-conflict situations that involve trauma and devastation. As the physical, mental, and emotional sides of individuals are concerns for practitioners, so too is the spiritual side. Giusti believes that the field is lacking in mind-body approacheswith obvious exceptions- remarking that, “there are a number of non-western conflict resolution models that involve holistic and integrative approaches around the stimulation of mind, body, and spirit. I feel the traditional western models are too cognitive and do not account for the more spiritual side of people.”
Giusti recently attended a training program called 'Integrating Mind-Body Medicine into Clinical Practice, Medical Education and Trauma Healing.' The program was hosted by the Center for Mind-Body Medicine located in Washington, DC, which teaches professionals to manage their own stress and effectively incorporate these techniques into their work with clients.
The wealth of knowledge that Giusti has is crucial in keeping ICAR relevant in the field. Giusti states that “though ICAR itself has not actively pursued or advertised research of this kind as an institution, I have found many individuals who are interested in this kind of work."
In looking to the future, Giusti would like to raise awareness of this approach in the field through research and by using his position as a TA at GMU's Center for Consciousness and Transformation to build relationships and develop useful applications. Long term, he hopes to integrate his knowledge of these approaches as a professor or service oriented professional in the field.