THE POISE PROJECT: alexander technique for the 21st century

THE POISE PROJECT

Cohen, R. G., Nutt, J. G., & Horak, F. B. (2017). Recovery from Multiple APAs Delays Gait Initiation in Parkinson's Disease. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 11, 60. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2017.00060
de Lima-Pardini, A. C., de Azevedo Neto, R. M., Coelho, D. B., Boffino, C. C., Shergill, S. S., de Oliveira Souza, C., Brant, R., Barbosa, E. R., Cardoso, E. F., Teixeira, L. A., Cohen, R. G., Horak, F. B., & Amaro, E., Jr (2017). An fMRI-compatible force measurement system for the evaluation of the neural correlates of step initiation. Scientific reports, 7, 43088. https://doi.org/10.1038/srep43088
Mancini, M., Smulders, K., Cohen, R. G., Horak, F. B., Giladi, N., & Nutt, J. G. (2017). The clinical significance of freezing while turning in Parkinson's disease. Neuroscience, 343, 222–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2016.11.045

Parkinson's Association of the Carolinas Walk
Charlotte NC
- Table with handout materials and Poise mini-lesson "tune ups"

Parkinson's Foundation Moving Day® events
San Francisco & San Jose CA
- Table with handout materials and Alexander mini-lesson "Poise Tune Ups"
- "Poise Tune Up Station" along the walk course with "I got a tune up with Alexander technique" stickers
- Took photos for The Poise Project Tip Card "Takeaways" project

American Society for the Alexander Technique Annual Meeting
San Diego CA
- The Poise Project handout with updates and professional outreach
- The Poise Project Diversity Statement handout for the AT and Diversity workshop

Awarded $25,000 Parkinson's Foundation NC Triangle Moving Day® Community Grant
- Monika Gross & Belinda Mello design protocols for a 10-week AT-based group course for care partners: "Partnering with Poise"
- 3 AT teachers are trained in the protocols
- Delivered many Parkinson's support group presentations across the state
- Course is delivered at 8 sites in North Carolina between September 2017-June 2018
- IRB approved research project with Dr. Rajal Cohen through the University of Idaho.
  - Data collected pre- and post-course, at 6 months and at 12 months

4th Annual Integrative Healthcare Summit
Area Health Education Center (AHEC), Charlotte NC
- Delivered presentation to allied health professionals: "A New Member of the Interdisciplinary Care Team: The Skilled Patient - Alexander technique (AT) training for Patient Self-regulation with Long-term Retention of Benefits"
- Participated in discussions and advocated for AT for patient care

The Poise Project AT for Parkinson's Team Building & Training Days
San Francisco & San Jose CA
- Led new team training of 25 AT teachers and trainees in The Poise Project strategic model
- Our Medical Consultant, Dr. Maya Katz, a movement disorder specialist at UCSF, and Colleen Fischer, National Coordinator of Signature Events for the Parkinson's Foundation, delivered educational training in Parkinson's disease and in care partner challenges
- Gave initial basic training in best practices for adapting AT for Parkinson's
- Included a two-hour public workshop with members of the local Parkinson's communities, where teachers observed group teaching methods, and then worked individually with PWP and care partners
Launched AT for Parkinson's Bay Area Patient Referral Project
Greater San Francisco Bay Area CA
- Our Medical Consultant, Dr. Maya Katz, a movement disorder specialist at UCSF, started a database of all of The Poise Project trained teachers and began referring patients for AT sessions