The slowdown in business due to the pandemic has provided business owners with time to explore new ideas and develop new products. UMW EagleWorks client, Barbara Gustavson, founder of Discover Next Step and certified leadership coach, is one such owner. During the past few months, she has been working with Dr. Daniel G. Amen, MD, one of America’s leading psychiatrists and Founder of Amen Clinics, BrainMD, and Amen University, to develop resources for coaches and trainers.
Barbara experienced the profound benefits of brain rehabilitation firsthand. The process improved her memory, focus, attention, and anxiety management. Last year she became a certified Brain Health Coach and now collaborates with Dr. Amen. She is inspired to help others in the leadership, medical, business and coaching industries incorporate brain health and neuroscience into their skillsets.
Barbara worked with Dr. Amen and his team to develop resources that are tailored for a corporate audience. Barbara explains, “We are taking Dr. Amen’s clinical language and knowledge and incorporating it with
digestible content into resources for leaders and coaches with a focus on brain health.”
The purpose of the resources is to teach and train coaches, consultants and educators how to incorporate brain health into their existing leadership, coaching and teaching curricula. Barbara explains the neuroscience approach as “the brain is the hardware of the body and the software is comprised of intangible pieces such as the ability to think, focus, make decisions, and work through conflict, etc. When the hardware and software both work together properly, it allows a person to have better relationships, think more creatively and critically, make better decisions, regulate emotions and be more successful overall.”
The foundation of Dr. Amen’s work and in the curriculum of his brain health program is comprised of a 4-circle approach: social, biological, spiritual, and psychological (shown in the diagram to the right). While the brain health material emphasizes the physical part of the brain, other important elements are emotional intelligence, spiritual (higher calling or purpose), social (connection to yourself and others), and psychological (self-talk).
You can find more information about Dr. Amen’s clinicss and resources at amenclinics.com.
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