Great Prayer Experiment Benson-Henry Institute The Relaxation Response
Spouse
Marilyn Benson
Children
2, Jennifer and Gregory
Scientific career
Fields
Medicine, physiology
Institutions
Harvard Medical School Beth Israel Hospital Massachusetts General Hospital Andover Newton Theological School
Herbert Benson (April 24, 1935 – February 3, 2022) was an American medical doctor, cardiologist, and founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston. He was a professor of mind/body medicine at Harvard Medical School and director emeritus of the Benson-Henry Institute (BHI) at MGH. He was a founding trustee of The American Institute of Stress. He contributed more than 190 scientific publications and 12 books.[1] More than five million copies of his books have been printed in different languages.[2][3]
Started in 1998,[4] Benson became the leader of the so-called "Great Prayer Experiment," or technically the "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP)." The result published in 2006 concluded that intercessory prayer has no beneficial effect on patients with coronary artery bypass graft surgery.[5] He, however, continued to believe that prayer has positive health benefits.[6]
Benson coined relaxation response (and wrote a book by the same title) as a scientific term for the reversion of the physical stress response that can be elicited by meditation, and he used it to describe the ability of the body to stimulate relaxation of muscle and organs.[7]
^"Dr. Herbert Benson". Benson-Henry Institute for Mind Body Medicine. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
^"Dr. Herbert Benson". The Legacy of Wisdon Project. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
^"2000 Hans Selye Award". The American Institute of Stress. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
^Dusek, Jeffery A.; Sherwood, Jane B.; Friedman, Richard; Myers, Patricia; Bethea, Charles F.; Levitsky, Sidney; Hill, Peter C.; Jain, Manoj K.; Kopecky, Stephen L.; Mueller, Paul S.; Lam, Peter; Benson, Herbert; Hibberd, Patricia L. (2002). "Study of the therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer (STEP): Study design and research methods". American Heart Journal. 143 (4): 577–584. doi:10.1067/mhj.2002.122172. PMID 11923793.
^Benson, Herbert; Dusek, Jeffery A.; Sherwood, Jane B.; Lam, Peter; Bethea, Charles F.; Carpenter, William; Levitsky, Sidney; Hill, Peter C.; Clem, Donald W.; Jain, Manoj K.; Drumel, David; Kopecky, Stephen L.; Mueller, Paul S.; Marek, Dean; Rollins, Sue; Hibberd, Patricia L. (2006). "Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP) in cardiac bypass patients: A multicenter randomized trial of uncertainty and certainty of receiving intercessory prayer". American Heart Journal. 151 (4): 934–942. doi:10.1016/j.ahj.2005.05.028. PMID 16569567.
^"Dr Herbert Benson: Prayer Has a Therapeutic Effect". VISUAL MEDITATION. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
^Mitchell, Marilyn (29 March 2013). "Dr. Herbert Benson's Relaxation Response". Psychology Today. Sussex Publishers, LLC. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
HerbertBenson (April 24, 1935 – February 3, 2022) was an American medical doctor, cardiologist, and founder of the Mind/Body Medical Institute at Massachusetts...
The Relaxation Response is a book written in 1975 by HerbertBenson, a Harvard physician, and Miriam Z. Klipper. The response described in the book is...
the modern Western context include Thích Nhất Hạnh, Joseph Goldstein, HerbertBenson, Jon Kabat-Zinn, and Richard J. Davidson. Clinical psychology and psychiatry...
and anxiety can also be seen in students in university and nursing. HerbertBenson of Harvard Medical School conducted a series of clinical tests on meditators...
by others. In fact, one large and scientifically rigorous study by HerbertBenson and colleagues revealed that intercessory prayer had no effect on recovery...
20th-century leaders in the Sunday school movement include: Clarence HerbertBenson, Henrietta Mears, founder of Gospel Light, Dr. Gene A. Getz, Howard...
relation". Harold G. Koenig, Dale Mathews, David Larson, Jeffrey Levin, HerbertBenson and Michael McCullough are scholars to whom the foundation has provided...
pioneer in the use of prenatal ultrasound to diagnose fetal abnormalities HerbertBenson, 1961, cardiologist and founding president of the Mind/Body Medical...
meditation produces a reduction in arousal and increase in relaxation. HerbertBenson, founder of the Mind-Body Medical Institute, which is affiliated with...
(1990–1995). Mickey Bass, 78, American bassist, composer and arranger. HerbertBenson, 86, American medical doctor and cardiologist, kidney failure. James...
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Relaxation response may refer to: The Relaxation Response, a term coined by HerbertBenson and a book of the same name in which he describes his research into...
Interviewed experts: Marcus Raichle, Henrik Ehrsson, Alex Pentland, HerbertBenson, Allan Snyder, Michael Weisend. 27 9 "Will Eternity End?" August 1, 2012 (2012-08-01)...
featured William Benson in the lead role alongside Saidi Balogun, Kelechi Udegbe and Martha Ehinome Orhiere. The film also features Herbert Macaulay's grandson...
ISBN 978-0-86171-151-2 MindScience: An East–West Dialogue, with contributions by HerbertBenson, Daniel Goleman, Robert Thurman, and Howard Gardner, Wisdom Publications...
importance of one's thinking in determining one's feelings. Work by HerbertBenson argues that humans have an innate 'breakout principle' which provides...
Mildred Augustine Wirt Benson (July 10, 1905 – May 28, 2002) was an American journalist and writer of children's books. She wrote some of the earliest...
Robert Hugh Monsignor Benson AFSC KC*SG KGCHS (18 November 1871 – 19 October 1914) was an English Catholic priest and writer. First an Anglican priest...
Ezra Taft Benson (August 4, 1899 – May 30, 1994) was an American farmer, government official, and religious leader who served as the 15th United States...
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