At the Westport Headache Institute, we’re excited to be partnering with clinical psychologist Dr. Mary Motwani, PhD. Although there are many procedural and medicinal tools to help patients with migraines, it’s important to note that mindfulness can have a significant impact on reducing headache frequency, severity, and duration. A 2019 study using MRI imaging found that mindfulness decreased headache days and reduced headache-related disability. In the video below, Dr. Motwani discusses how to start using your ‘mindfulness muscle’ to approach situations in real life, whether it is simply slowing down and observing your own thoughts, or paying more attention when drinking a cup of coffee.
In the coming weeks, we’ll post more videos on how mindfulness can play an important role in helping patients approach and deal with severe headaches. We look forward to working with Dr. Motwani in the future!
Mary Motwani, PhD is a licensed health psychologist in Greenwich, CT and NYC and earned her Ph.D. from Purdue University. She completed her clinical psychology internship at Loma Linda University Medical Center and post-doctoral fellowship at Northport Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, specializing in behavioral medicine. She has expertise working in the areas of pain management, chronic migraine and headache disorders, behavioral cardiology, and weight management. In her clinical practice, she focuses on guiding patients in leveraging the mind-body connection, implementing mindfulness and cognitive behavioral techniques to better manage their chronic medical conditions and improve their overall health and wellness.