Clinicians are highly trained, yet often under-supported in two critical areas of practice: understanding the human mind and recognizing the influence of language on healing.

This course introduces Noetic Medicine—an evidence-based, clinically relevant approach that brings scientific rigor to the use of language, presence, and mindset in patient care. It equips healthcare professionals with tools to enhance healing, reduce harm, and restore meaning to their clinical practice.

Participants will learn how communication—delivered with intention—can engage a patient’s innate healing capacity. They will also explore how miscommunication or poorly framed clinical information can result in unintended negative effects. As Dr. Bernard Lown once stated, “Words are among the most powerful tools a clinician has... but they can maim or heal.”

Instructor

Dr. Steve Bierman is a Family and Emergency Medicine physician and Director of the AWCIM Noetic Medicine Initiative. He holds board certification from the American Board of Medical Hypnosis and has trained extensively in Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) and Taoist healing traditions.

With over four decades of clinical experience, Dr. Bierman has developed and applied noetic techniques in a wide range of acute and primary care settings. His work has been featured on Dateline NBC, and his recent 2024 co-authored paper in Frontiers in Psychiatry offers a new scientific model for understanding placebo and nocebo effects. He is also the author of HEALING—Beyond Pills & Potions, which explores how noetic tools can be incorporated into fast-paced clinical practice.

Learning Objectives

At the end of this course, participants will be able to:

1. Define noetic medicine.
2. List the four pillars of the hypnotic method.
3. Summarize the role trance can play in noetic medicine.
4. Employ techniques for developing rapport and linkage for use in the hypnotic method.
5. Describe noetic medicine approaches, applicable in clinical care, including:
   • Greetings and goodbyes
   • Painless injections
   • Delivering bad news
   • Trance Induction
   • Pre-surgical work
   • Protecting patients from curses
   • Emergency situations
6. Apply a variety of noetic medicine approaches in clinical care, including:
   • Greetings and goodbyes
   • Delivering bad news
   • Trance Induction
7. Discuss the "Worry Protocol" and its potential use to address fear.

Special thanks for the generous donor support from Mr. Al Assad and Mr. Gabriel Wisdom, for the creation of this course.

Curriculum

Introduction

• Introduction to Mind Medicine and Clinical Hypnosis
• Hypnotic Method: Authority & Rapport Patterns
• Hypnotic Method: Language & Linkage
• Hypnotic Method: Clarifications & Wrap-up

Application of Mind Medicine and Clinical Hypnosis

• Greetings and Goodbyes
• Painless Injections
• Informed Consent
• Delivering Bad News
• Trance Induction
• Pre-Surgery
• Other Skills and Refinements

The Worry Protocol

• Worry Protocol Overview
• Worry Protocol Demonstration
• Worry Protocol: Post-Demo Review & Instructions

Wrap-Up

• Concluding Thoughts
• Introductory Noetic Medicine Evaluation

Course Time Investment

Learners can expect to spend 15.25 hours completing this course.

Completion Requirements & Certificate

Complete all the coursework and course evaluation. Upon successful completion within the agreed-upon timeline, a link to the completion certificate will be available for download at any time from "My Account."

Target Audience

This enduring material educational program is intended for physicians, nurse practitioners, nurses, physician assistants, psychologists, and psychiatrists in any specialty. Additionally, all healthcare professionals with an interest in an integrative approach to healing are targeted.

Disclaimer

This course does not constitute medical advice. Healthcare providers should exercise their own independent medical judgment.