Lifestyle Medicine: Tools for Promoting Healthy Change
- Continuing Education
This immersive two-day course offers state-of-the-art strategies to guide patients to healthier lives. Education includes evidence-based strategies, tools, and techniques to effect healthier changes in patients (and ourselves), including weight loss, exercise, sleep, stress management, nutrition, mental health, and health/wellness coaching.
- Live Online
This program uses state-of-the-art streaming technology to present sessions online in real time. Participants can attend from any location, and can interact with faculty via live chat.
Additionally, all sessions will be recorded and made available to participants for online viewing for 90 days after the end of the course.
All live streaming and recorded sessions are eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and other relevant credits. (Note: Evaluations must be completed within 30 days in order to receive CME credit.)
This is the full tuition. A $100 early registration discount is available.
Please see the full table below.
Early Registration Deadline:
Continuing Education Credits
Earn up to:
» 21.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
» 21.25 ECME Credits®
2 Days, + optional pre-course workshop
This immersive two-day course offers state-of-the-art strategies to guide patients to healthier lives. The course also offers an optional full-day pre-course Motivational Interviewing workshop.
On This Page
Overview
Evidence-Based Approaches to Help Patients Initiate and Sustain Healthy Behaviors
Lifestyle Medicine is an online course, using live streaming, electronic Q&A, and other remote learning technologies.
This immersive two-day course offers state-of-the-art strategies to guide patients to healthier lives. Education includes evidence-based strategies, tools, and techniques to effect healthier changes in patients (and ourselves), including weight loss, exercise, sleep, stress management, nutrition, mental health, and health/wellness coaching.
Past participants report a renewed passion for practicing medicine and reduced personal stress as they learn to enhance their own health and to serve as role models for their patients.
One day prior to the start of Lifestyle Medicine, on June 10, 2026, we host the optional full-day workshop, Mastering the Principles of Motivational Interviewing.
Reasons to Attend in 2026
Our daily work as healthcare professionals increasingly involves caring for patients with diseases that are ultimately caused by or exacerbated by poor diet, lack of exercise, stress, and inadequate sleep. Yet professional training does not sufficiently prepare us to leverage our position of trust to help patients initiate health-promoting behaviors. At the same time, we are seeing payment structures rapidly evolve to reward clinicians based upon our patients’ health behaviors and health outcomes. These factors have given rise to an overwhelming demand for evidence-based lifestyle medicine practices that have been shown to prevent, treat, and even reverse chronic diseases. That is precisely what is offered at Lifestyle Medicine: Tools for Promoting Healthy Change.
Highlights of the 2026 program include:
- Obesity medicine: strategies for daily practice
- Stress, mindfulness, and meditation
- Advising patients on nutrition in 2026
- Lifestyle medicine for underserved populations
- Culinary medicine
- Health and wellness coaching in day-to-day practice
- Exercise is medicine
- Exercise prescription and new data on the benefits of resistance training
- Brain energy: lifestyle and metabolic interventions for mental health
- Sleep problems: effective interventions
- Perspectives on clinician self-care in 2026: what it is and why it matters
- Transforming knowledge into action
Skills Advancement
Recognized experts in the fields of lifestyle medicine, behavior change, health coaching, exercise, stress management, obesity, and nutrition provide guidance and innovations for:
- Incorporating lifestyle medicine into your current practice
- Improving patient communication
- Building an effective lifestyle medicine team
- Engaging resistant patients
In addition to being live streamed, all sessions will be recorded and placed in the online course library, enabling registrants to view them at their convenience. Recordings will be available for viewing for 90 days after the conclusion of the course. All live streaming and recorded sessions are eligible for AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ and other relevant credits. (Note: Evaluations must be completed within 30 days in order to receive CME credit.)
Developed and Offered By:
Continuing Education courses are developed by faculty from Harvard Medical School's teaching hospitals and accredited by Harvard Medical School. This course is offered by Spaulding Rehabilitation and the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine.
Participant Types
- Physicians
- Nurse Practitioners
- Physician Assistants
- Nurses
- Psychologists
- Social Workers
- Dietitians
- Dentists
- Educators
- Pharmacists
- Health Coaches
- Exercise Physiologists
- Physical Therapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Fellows
- Residents
- Medical Students
Schedule
This program is among the highest-rated Harvard Medical School CME courses.
All schedule times are Eastern Daylight Time.
Please note that program changes / substitutions may be made without notice.
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
Principles of Motivational Interviewing
Optional Pre-Course Full-Day Workshop
Welcome and Overview: The Spirit of Motivational Interviewing
Dr. Joji Suzuki
9:00-9:30 am
Engaging: OARS Skills
Dr. Abby Altman
9:30-10:20 am
- Open-ended questions
- Affirmations
- Reflections
- Summaries
Small Group Practice
10:20-10:40 am
Exercise Debriefing
All Faculty
10:40-10:50 am
Break
10:50-11:05 am
Focusing
Dr. Claudia Rodriguez
11:05-11:30 am
- Agenda setting
- Ask-tell-ask
Small Group Practice
11:30-11:40 am
Exercise Debriefing
All Faculty
11:40-11:45 am
Break
11:45 am-12:30 pm
Evoking
Susan Larrabee, LICSW
12:30-1:35 pm
- Strengthening internal motivation
- Change talk and sustain talk
Small Group Practice: Taste of Motivational Interviewing
1:35-1:55 pm
Exercise Debriefing
All Faculty
1:55-2:00 pm
Break
2:00-2:10 pm
Discord: Rolling with Resistance
Dr. John Rodolico
2:10-2:45 pm
Small Group Practice
2:45-3:05 pm
Exercise Debriefing
All Faculty
3:05-3:10 pm
Planning: MI Consistent Action Planning
Dr. Reuben Hendler
3:10-3:40 pm
Break
3:40-3:50 pm
Bringing It Together
Susan Larrabee, LICSW
3:50-5:00 pm
- Practice exercise
- Exercise debriefing
- Video demonstration of MI
- 10-minute debrief
Q&A
All Faculty
5:00-5:20 pm
Workshop Wrap-up
All Faculty
5:20-5:30 pm
Thursday, June 11, 2026
Lifestyle Medicine: Tools for Promoting Healthy Change
Day 1
The Seismic Shift in Lifestyle Medicine
Dr. Edward Phillips
9:00-9:30 am
New Perspectives on Clinician Self-Care
Dr. Suzanne Koven
9:30-10:30 am
Break (optional 5-minute exercise session at 10:40 am)
10:30-10:45 am
Lifestyle Medicine for Underserved Populations
Dr. David Bowman
10:45-11:30 am
Yoga for Stress Management: Scientific Rationale and Research Evidence
Dr. Sat Bir Khalsa
11:30 am-12:15 pm
Break (optional mini meditation at 1:10 pm)
12:15-1:15 pm
Keynote: 2026 Nutrition Update
Dr. Walter Willett
1:15-2:15 pm
Culinary Medicine Update
Dr. Rani Polak
2:15-2:45 pm
Health and Wellness Coaching in Day-to-Day Practice
Dr. Elizabeth Frates
2:45-3:30 pm
Break (optional 5-minute exercise session at 3:40 pm)
3:30-3:45 pm
Keynote: Meaning, Purpose, and Spirituality
Dr. Liana Lianov
3:45-4:45 pm
Effectiveness and Applicability of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in a Busy Practice Setting
Dr. Joji Suzuki
4:45-5:30 pm
Friday, June 12, 2026
Lifestyle Medicine: Tools for Promoting Healthy Change
Day 2
Keynote: Lifestyle Psychiatry
Dr. Gia Merlo
9:00-10:00 am
Keynote: Planetary Health
Dr. Ans Irfan
10:00-11:00 am
Obesity Medicine
Dr. Chika Anekwe
11:00 am-12:00 pm
Break (optional 5-minute exercise session at 11:55 am)
12:00-12:15 pm
Incorporating Basic and Advanced Lifestyle Medicine Principles into Your Practice
Drs. Pam Adelstein, Irene Grundy, and Ioannis Arkadianos
12:15-1:30 pm
Break (optional mini meditation at 2:10 pm)
1:30-2:30 pm
Sleep Problems
Dr. Param Dedhia
2:30-3:30 pm
Billing for Lifestyle Medicine
Dr. Meagan Grega
3:30-4:15 pm
Break (optional 5-minute exercise session at 4:10 pm)
4:15-4:30 pm
Motivate Your Patients with Implementation Science
Dr. Mary Kennedy
4:30-5:00 pm
Exercise and Nutrition
Drs. Edward Phillips and Rachele Pojednic
5:00-5:50 pm
Transforming Lifestyle Medicine Knowledge into Action
Dr. Edward Phillips
5:50-6:00 pm
Optional Pre-Course Workshop
Mastering the Principles of Motivational Interviewing
Wednesday, June 10, 9:00 am - 5:30 pm (Live streaming)
Motivational Interviewing (MI)—a collaborative method of communication—has emerged as one of the most critical and effective evidence-based approaches when working with patients to promote behavior change. In this intensive one-day workshop, participants learn state-of-the-art principles and practices for motivational interviewing. Highlights include:
- A comprehensive review of modern MI goals and principles
- Best practices for translating MI principles into practice
- Guidance for exploring the patient’s own reasons for change
- How to convey acceptance, partnership, evocation, and compassion
- Approaches to patients who are “resistant” to change
- Skills development through role plays and small-group discussions
All sessions of this program will be recorded and made available to participants for online viewing for 90 days after the end of the course.
Optimized for Immersive, Interactive Distance Learning
The 2025 program has been enhanced for distance learning. All presenters will appear in real time to facilitate live Q&A, and moderators will monitor ongoing chat and audience polling. In addition, all sessions of this program will be recorded and made available to participants for online viewing for 90 days after the end of the course.
This video archive will permit those in different time zones or who have scheduling conflicts to avoid missing any sessions that are important to them. Participants can also review sessions that they watched during live streaming to reinforce key learning points.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this course, participants will be able to:
- Recognize that lifestyle choices are the root cause of most disease, death, and healthcare cost.
- Utilize evidence-based practices in health coaching to support initial behavior change and to sustain the new behavior.
- Counsel patients on the importance of lifestyle changes.
- Develop strategies to encourage patients to make and meet their new lifestyle goals.
- Describe and demonstrate the spirit of motivational interviewing (MI) and its four processes (engaging, focusing, evoking, planning).
- Adapt the MI skills to fit into participants’ current practice setting and target behaviors.
- Utilize patient-centered MI skills to help elicit and strengthen the internal motivation for change.
Faculty
Course Director
- Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School
- Whole Health Medical Director, VA Boston Healthcare System
- Director of the Institute of Lifestyle Medicine (ILM)
Abby Altman, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Chika Anekwe, MD, Instructor in Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Elizabeth P. Frates, MD, Assistant Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Part-time, Harvard Medical School
Reuben Hendler, MD, Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Sat Bir Khalsa, PhD, Corresponding Member of the Faculty of Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Suzanne Koven, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine, Associate Professor of Global Health and Social Medicine, Harvard Medical School
Susan Larrabee, LICSW, Clinical Social Worker, Division of Infectious Diseases, Brigham and Women's Hospital
Edward M. Phillips, MD, Associate Professor of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Harvard Medical School
Claudia Rodriguez, MD, Instructor in Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
John Rodolico, PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry, Part-time, Harvard Medical School
Joji Suzuki, MD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Walter Willett, MD, DrPH, Professor of Epidemiology and Nutrition, and Chair, Department of Nutrition, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Pamela Adelstein, MD, Private Practice
Ioannis Arkadianos, MD, President-elect and co-founder, European Lifestyle Medicine Organization
David Bowman, MD, Member of the Faculty of Pediatrics, Howard University
Param Dedhia, MD, Moveo Health
Meagan Grega, MD, Clinical Assistant Professor, Lewis Katz School of Medicine at Temple University
Irene Grundy, MD, MS, Adjunct Assistant Professor of Medicine, Tulane University School of Medicine
Ans Irfan, MD, EdD, DrPH, ScD, MRPL, MPH, Clinical Associate Professor of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California
Mary Kennedy, PhD, Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Implementation Science, Edith Cowan University School of Medical and Health Science
Liana Lianov, MD, MPH, Assistant Professor at the Center for Positive Health Sciences at Royal College of Surgeons Ireland – RCSI University of Medical and Health Sciences
Gia Merlo, MD, MBA, MEd, Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
Rachele Pojednic, PhD, EdM, Adjunct Lecturer of Human Biology, Stanford University
Rani Polak, MD, Chef, MBA, Founding Director, Culinary Healthcare Education Fundamentals (CHEF) Coaching program, Institute of Lifestyle Medicine and Center of Lifestyle Medicine, Sheba Medical Center, Tel Aviv, Israel
Course Fees
Fee Disclaimer
Registrations for Harvard Medical School CME programs are made via our secure online registration system. At the end of the registration process, a $10 non-refundable processing fee will be added to your registration.
Upon receipt of your paid registration, an email confirmation will be sent to you. Be sure to include an email address that you check frequently. Your email address is used for critical information, including registration confirmation, evaluation, and certificate.
Please review the cancellation policy.
Early Registration Deadline:
| Role | Course Fee |
|---|
Optional Pre-Course Workshop ● Wednesday, June 10, 2026 | |
| Mastering the Principles of Motivational Interviewing Full-day skills development workshop | $350 |
All sessions of each program will be recorded as they are live streamed and placed in an online course video library, so that registrants of each program can review them at their convenience. Each video library will be available for 90 days after the conclusion of the course.
Accreditation
The Harvard Medical School designates this live activity for a maximum of 21.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
- Main course, Lifestyle Medicine: Tools for Promoting Healthy Change (June 11–12): 14.50 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
- Optional pre-course workshop, Mastering the Principles of Motivational Interviewing (June 10): 6.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™
For the purpose of recertification, the American Academy of Nurse Practitioners Certification Board and American Nurses Credentialing Center accept AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ issued by organizations accredited by the ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education). We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure.
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) states that AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are acceptable for continuing medical education requirements for recertification. We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialties (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found on the European Union of Medical Specialties website.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada recognizes conferences and workshops held outside of Canada that are developed by a university, academy, hospital, specialty society or college as accredited group learning activities.