Breath Matters
Presented by Inna Khazan, PhD
This program was recorded on Friday, May 13th, 2022
Access provided upon registration on “My Courses” page
Healthy breathing is one of the foundations of human health and well-being. Overbreathing, one of the most common breathing dysregulations, affects 10-25% of US population and is associated with conditions such as asthma, panic disorder, anxiety, chest pain, GI distress, and chronic pain. Oftentimes, our clients come to us reporting that the “deep breathing exercises” they’ve learned previously do not work for them, make them feel lightheaded or short of breath, or make them feel worse. These symptoms are often a sign of overbreathing, a behavior of breathing out too much carbon dioxide, resulting in hypocapnia, or low levels of carbon dioxide. Hypocapnia, in turn, leads to significant emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physiological changes that may seriously impact health and performance.
During psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, clients may unintentionally overbreathe by taking overly deep breaths, creating discomfort and reluctance to engage in future sessions. The purpose of this session is to discuss the physiology of breathing and provide the audience with practical strategies for breathing assessment and teaching healthy breathing, including guidance for explaining healthy breathing to clients, and tips for practice and training.
Access provided upon registration on “My Courses” page
This program, when attended in its entirety, offers 1.5 CEs for Psychologists, 1.5 IL CEUS for Counselors and Social Workers, or 1.5 BBS California CEUs for LPCCs, LPSW, and LMFTs.
Healthy breathing is one of the foundations of human health and well-being. Overbreathing, one of the most common breathing dysregulations, affects 10-25% of US population and is associated with conditions such as asthma, panic disorder, anxiety, chest pain, GI distress, and chronic pain. Oftentimes, our clients come to us reporting that the “deep breathing exercises” they’ve learned previously do not work for them, make them feel lightheaded or short of breath, or make them feel worse. These symptoms are often a sign of overbreathing, a behavior of breathing out too much carbon dioxide, resulting in hypocapnia, or low levels of carbon dioxide. Hypocapnia, in turn, leads to significant emotional, cognitive, behavioral and physiological changes that may seriously impact health and performance.
During psychotherapy and hypnotherapy, clients may unintentionally overbreathe by taking overly deep breaths, creating discomfort and reluctance to engage in future sessions. The purpose of this session is to discuss the physiology of breathing and provide the audience with practical strategies for breathing assessment and teaching healthy breathing, including guidance for explaining healthy breathing to clients, and tips for practice and training.
After attending this introductory-level program, participants will be able to:
1. Discuss the concept of overbreathing and its physiological correlates.
2. Select appropriate skills to correct overbreathing and teach healthy breathing.
3. Highlight the integration of breath training into psychotherapy and hypnosis-based intervention.
4. Discuss the immediate psychological effects of overbreathing and healthy breathing.
5. Explain the linkages between breath patterns and common mental health conditions, including anxiety disorders, depression, and post traumatic stress disorder.
This program meets APA’s continuing education Standard 1.1: Program content focuses on application of psychological assessment and/or intervention methods that have overall consistent and credible empirical support in the contemporary peer reviewed scientific literature beyond those publications and other types of communications devoted primarily to the promotion of the approach.
This program meets APA’s continuing education Goal 1: Program is relevant to psychological practice, education, and/or science.
General Admission: $65.00
SCEH Members: $55.00
Students: $15.00*
(Please email [email protected] for coupon code)
Refund Policy: 100% of tuition is refundable up to 48 hours before the program. Within 48 hours of the program, and at any point in Homestudy format, tuition is nonrefundable.
Inna Khazan, PhD, BCB; Faculty Member, Harvard Medical School, and Founder, Boston Center for Health Psychology and Biofeedback
Inna Khazan, PhD, BCB is a faculty member at Harvard Medical School, where she teaches and supervises trainees. She is clinical psychologist specializing in health psychology and performance excellence training using biofeedback and mindfulness-based approaches. Dr. Khazan is the founder of Boston Center for Health Psychology and Biofeedback, working with clients on optimizing their health and performance. She also serves as chief science officer for Optimal HRV, a company dedicated to helping people improve their mental and physical health. Recognized as a pioneer in mindfulness-based biofeedback, Dr. Khazan is a popular speaker at national and international conferences on the topics of biofeedback and mindfulness. She has conducted biofeedback and mindfulness trainings for notable institutions in the US and abroad, including the US Navy Special Warfare, US Army Special Forces, and the Stuttgart Opera and Ballet Company. Dr. Khazan serves as president of the board of directors for Institute for Meditation and Psychotherapy (IMP), board member for the Association for Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback (AAPB), and Biofeedback Certification International Alliance (BCIA), where she is currently chair elect. Dr. Khazan writes for Psychology today, is the author of numerous journal articles and three books, including the highly-regarded Clinical Handbook of Biofeedback: A Step-by-Step Guide to Training and Practice with Mindfulness, the popular Biofeedback and Mindfulness in Everyday Life: Practical Solutions for Improving Your Health and Performance, and Mindfulness and compassion in biofeedback: A book of readings, coedited with Dr. Donald Moss.
Chien, H., Chung, Y., Yeh, M., and Lee, J. (2015). Breathing exercise combined with cognitive behavioural intervention improves sleep quality and heart rate variability in major depression. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 24, 3206–3214. doi: 10.1111/jocn.12972
Everly, G., Jr., & Lating, J. (2013). Voluntary control of respiration patterns. A clinical guide to the treatment of the human stress response (pp. 223–235). Springer: New York.
Fox, S. I. (2016). Human physiology (14th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
Jerath, R., Crawford, M. W., Barnes, V. A., & Harden, K.. (2015). Self-regulation of breathing as a primary treatment for anxiety. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 40, 107–115. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10484-015-9279-8
Khazan, I. (2018). Breathing, overbreathing, and mindfulness. Biofeedback, 46(2).
Khazan, I. Z. (2019).Biofeedback and mindfulness in everyday life. Practical solutions for improving your health and performance. W. W. Norton.
Nestor, J. (2020). Breath: The new science of a lost art. Riverhead Books.
Russo, M. A., Santarelli, D. M., and O’Rourke, D. (2017). The physiological effects of slow breathing in the healthy human. Breathe, 13, 298–309. https://doi: 10.1183/20734735.009817
Steffen, P. R., Bartlett, D., Channell, R. M., Jackman, K., Cressman, M., Bills, J., & Pescatello, M. (2021). Integrating breathing techniques into psychotherapy to improve HRV: Which approach Is best? Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.624254
Target Audience: Hypnosis practitioners, psychologists, LCSWs, MFTs, LCPCs, all mental health disciplines, health care professionals, graduate students welcome.
Psychologists. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 1.5 continuing education credits. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology maintains responsibility for this program and its content. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is committed to accessibility and non-discrimination in its continuing education activities. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is also committed to conducting all activities in conformity with the American Psychological Association’s Ethical Principles for Psychologists. Participants are asked to be aware of the need for privacy and confidentiality throughout the program. If program content becomes stressful, participants are encouraged to process these feelings during discussion periods.
Counselors/Clinical Counselors. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 1.5 hours of continuing education. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to provide continuing education programming for counselors and clinical counselors. License Number: 197.000159
Social Workers. This program, when attended in its entirety, is available for 1.5 hours of continuing education. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is licensed by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation (IDFPR) to provide continuing education programming for social workers. License Number: 159.001036
MFTs, LPCCs, and LCSWs. Course meets the qualifications for 1.5 hours of continuing education credit for MFTs, LPCCs, and/or LCSWs as required by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences. If you are licensed outside of California please check with your local licensing agency to to determine if they will accept these CEUs. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is approved by the California Board of Behavioral Sciences (BBS) to offer continuing education programming for MFTs, LPCCs, LEPs, and/or LCSWs. The Chicago School of Professional Psychology is an accredited or approved postsecondary institution that meets the requirements set forth in Sections 4980.54(f)(1), 4989.34, 4996.22(d)(1), or 4999.76(d) of the Code.
Non-Psychologists. Most licensing boards accept Continuing Education Credits sponsored by the American Psychological Association but non-psychologists are recommended to consult with their specific state-licensing board to ensure that APA-sponsored CE is acceptable.
*Participants must attend 100% of the program in order to obtain a Certificate of Attendance.
If participants have special needs, we will attempt to accommodate them. Please address questions, concerns and any complaints to [email protected]. There is no commercial support for this program nor are there any relationships between the CE Sponsor, presenting organization, presenter, program content, research, grants, or other funding that could reasonably be construed as conflicts of interest.