The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School has been a visionary force pioneering the investigation and integration of meditation and mindfulness into mainstream medicine and health care for 34 years. Directed by Dr. Saki F. Santorelli, the Center is an innovative, multi-dimensional organization in the Department of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.
Founded in 1979 by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, the Center's Stress Reduction Clinic is the place of origin of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). To date, more than 24,000 patients have completed the MBSR program at UMass. Worldwide, there are more than 750 MBSR programs in hospitals, clinics, and as free-standing programs serving the needs of tens of thousands of people on six continents.
The work of the Center has been featured on PBS in Bill Moyer's documentary, Healing and the Mind—viewed by more than 40 million people—on NBC's Dateline, ABC's Evening News and Chronicle programs, The Oprah Winfrey Show, and in hundreds of newspapers, magazine articles, and web-based media publications.