Rogier Hoenders is psychiatrist, founder of the Integrated Psychiatry Center at GGz, Winschoten, and researcher at 'The Middenweg', the Complementary and Alternative Medicine Research Group of GGz Groningen, Netherlands.

Paul van Dijk is general practitioner in Zaltbommel, Netherlands. A ninth edition of his 1976 book, "Therapies in the Netherlands; A Compendium of Alternative Medicine" was recently published.

Dr. David Servan-Schreiber is one of the foremost thinkers in psychiatry today and author of the international best-seller THE INSTINCT TO HEAL: Curing Stress, Anxiety and Depression without Drugs and Without Talk Therapy (one million copies sold in Europe, translated in 29 languages, published in 37 countries).

After completing medical school in Canada and a PhD in Cognitive Neuroscience at Carnegie Mellon University under the direction of Nobel Laureate Herbert Simon, PhD, he directed a laboratory funded by the National Institute of Mental Health for eight years that explored the neural basis of emotions and behavior at the University of Pittsburgh. He then started to lead new clinical and research programs exploring the efficacy and mechanisms of a variety of complementary and alternative medicine approaches to health care and emotional well-being while directing the Center for Integrative Medicine of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. Today, Dr. Servan-Schreiber is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at the school of Medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and Lecturer at the School of Medicine of Lyon (France).

Dr. Servan-Schreiber has also been active in international medical relief. He has been a volunteer as a general practitioner in Kurdistan after the Gulf War, and as a psychiatrist in Guatemala, India, Tajikistan and Kosovo with the international organization Doctors Without Borders. He was one of the founding members of the board of directors of the U.S. chapter of this organization and remained on the board between 1991 and 2000. In 1999, MSF/Doctors Without Borders was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

Since 2000, Dr. Servan-Schreiber has been an advisor to the OECD's new program Learning Sciences and Brain Research, which proposes directions in educational policy based on developments in neuroscience. In addition to being on the advisory board, he is the program's consultant on the topic of emotional intelligence.



"Nature's Way of Self-Healing: From Neuroscience to Clinical Practice.
The scientific basis of Integrated Medicine"

Progress in neuroscience and recent clinical studies are shedding light on how mind and body affect each other.The central mechanism of healing is homeostasis: the body's ability to return to balance when provided with basic biological needs.This talk will review mind-body interactions in relation to emotional healing and how they translate into specific treatment interventions.

Joop de Jong is Professor of Mental Welfare and Culture at the Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, Professor of Psychiatry at the Boston University, and Director of Public Health and Research of HealthnetTPO.

Bernard Gesch is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Physiology, University of Oxford and Director of the research charity Natural Justice, which investigates causes of criminal antisocial behaviour. In the late eighties he established a successful programme combining nutrition and social approaches to offending which Courts in the North of England could use as an alternative to sending persistent young offenders to prison. With the co-operation of the UK Home Office, Bernard and colleagues conducted a clinical trial to test if better nutrition could improve the behaviour of maximum-security prisoners. It did! His work has attracted in excess of 200 positive press articles worldwide. He collaborates internationally, including the Dutch Ministry of Justice. He has advised the World Health Organisation on how much global violence could be attributed to poor diet. He has been invited by the UK Home Office to design a conclusive study of the effects of diet on crime in the community and is working on further prison studies. Bernard and Natural Justice won a BBC Special Award in 2005 for the organisation that has done most to highlight the importance of diet in society.



Reuniting Body and Mind: Diet and Behaviour.

We somehow manage to de-couple the brain from behaviour by assuming that social behaviour is purely a matter of free-will. But how exactly can we exercise free-will without involving our brains? How exactly can our brain function properly without its nutrient supply? Hence a simple explanation why diet affects behaviour is found in the existence of the human brain, which like any other part of the body requires nourishment to function normally.
Nutrition is a meeting point of the physical and social worlds: the hardware and software of life so to speak, in which both are required for social functioning. Crucially, the physiological requirements of our diet are likely to be the most finite component of this equation, as they are derived from our evolution. We are already aware of the perils of high dietary intakes of salt, saturated fat, hydrogenated fats and refined sugar etc but our standards of dietary adequacy have focused on health rather than considerations of brain function, cognition or behaviour.
Scientists are now studying the effects of nutrient intakes in seemingly diverse conditions such as depression, schizophrenia, ADHD, learning difficulties and even antisocial behaviour. These seem to have increased considerably in recent times: their positive response to improved nutrition suggests that dietary changes may be partly responsible. Could something as simple as diet make a significant difference to our behaviour. Bernard will discuss the evidence.

T.Y.S. Lama Gangchen Tulku Rinpoche is a Tibetan Lama Healer who lives in Italy and who works in different countries all over the world. He has extensive knowledge of (Tibetan) Buddhism and (Tibetan) Medicine. He is a professor and vice-chancellor of the Open University of Complementary Medicines, founded by the WHO in Alma Ata 1962. He also received degrees in Naturopathy (USA), Holistic Medicine (India), Science (Sri Lanka), Energy Medicine (USA) and Philosophy (Russia) from different universities throughout the world. He received many prices and (peace) awards for his work.

He was born on July 7, 1941 in Dakshu, a tiny village 40 kilometres from Shigaste in the Western Tibetan region of Tsang. Recognized at an early age as the reincarnation of the great healing lama Kacen Sapenla, he extensively studied the Tantra practices and secret healing methods under the guide of S.S. Trijang Dorje Chang and the venerable Zong Rinpoche. He entered the monastery at the age of five and from the Monastery of Tashi Lumpo in Tibet at the age of twelve, he received the title of 'Kancen', a title which is usually conferred after twenty years of study. Up until 18 he studied medicine, astrology, meditation and philosophy in the most important monastic universities of Tibet: Sera Me and Tashi Lhunpo. After completing his studies by receiving the title of 'Gheshe' (doctorate in philosophy) he worked as a lama healer in Nepal and India. During these years, he dedicated himself to curing the sick. While in Sikkim (India) he became the doctor of the royal family. In 1981 he began to travel throughout the world and he arrived in Europe teaching different Buddhist meditation practices like Tantric NgalSo Self-Healing, a method that helps recognize our real inner qualities and balance body, speech and mind. He diffused teachings on inner peace education and environmental care. He promoted cooperation between the East and West and encouraged the diffusion of Himalayan culture and traditional medicine. He is responsible for over one hundred centres and associations in Europe, Asia, and America.

In 1992 he instituted the Lama Gangchen World Peace Foundation, a non-governmental affiliate of the United Nations. The same year he founded the non-profit organization 'Help in Action' with the aim of helping needy people in Tibet through long-distance adoptions. In 1995 he was the project planner for the institution of a Permanent Spiritual Forum at the United Nations, in which the representatives of all the spiritual and religious movements participated in order to contributeto the realisation of world peace. He works tirelessly to help anyone who desires healing and peace by rediscovering their own nature of pure crystal.