(photo Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Timothy Wilson) Capt. Francis Stewart, left, and Capt. Robert Koffman facilitate the mind-body skills group that meets every Thursday at the National Naval Medical Center. Open to all, the group practices a wide range of techniques focusing on healing physical and psychological illnesses.

The Mind-Body Group uses ‘‘mindfulness” based healing strategies such as meditation, guided imagery and biofeedback to treat stress, life changes and physical illnesses.

‘‘Navy Medicine believes in the utility of mind-body medicine,” said Capt. Robert Koffman, the director of Deployment Health at the Bureau of Medicine and Surgery and one of the programs co-facilitators.

Every study from Navy Medicine, relating to mental health, notes that individuals who need the most care and have served in the military the longest are the least likely to seek treatment, Koffman said.

‘‘The Mind-Body Group is a small group of individuals who are taught a full compliment of mind-body techniques,” Koffman said.

Anyone is welcome to the group who wishes to participate, he added.

Strict observance of patient confidentiality will be followed and information shared will remain within the confines of the meetings.

‘‘Mental health has always suffered from the perspective that individuals who seek mental health are damaged or injured or in some way defective,” said Capt. Francis Stewart, a staff psychiatrist and the groups other facilitator.

‘‘The idea of mind-body medicine is empowerment ... training, teaching and giving someone skills to keep them healthy,” she said.

Koffman and Stewart received training from the Center for Mind-Body Medicine, created by Dr. James Gordon, its founder and director. He is also currently the chair of the Advisory Council at the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Alternative Medicine and chair of the House Commission on Complementary and Alternative Medicine Policy.

In testimony given before the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Feb. 23, Gordon presented 10 recommendations for health care reform. These recommendations, based on 40 years of clinical experience, were given in response to a request from the Obama administration.

According to his statement, which ever model of universal health care is chosen in the future, it must be based on a different model than the current system. A model that views preventative self-care is equally important as treatments options.

‘‘[Education] in the use of nutrition, exercise, stress management and mind-body approaches must come to be seen and practiced as the true primary care,” Gordon said.

Mind-body techniques draw on concepts from the world’s religions and philosophies, including Christianity, Islam and Buddhism to yoga, naturalism and meditation.

Stewart emphasizes that the purpose is not religious, but rather it is learning to achieve a level of acceptance, self-realization and to develop skills that lead to a deeper self-awareness.

Meditation is a mental discipline used for centuries by numerous cultures to go beyond traditional thought processes and move into a deeper state of relaxation and awareness. The exercise focuses the mind by blocking out external ‘‘noise” to calm the individual.

‘‘Mind-body is specifically geared to help individuals self-regulate the adverse affects of trauma in war,” Koffman said.

Koffman added that Special Forces in all services practice guided imagery. This practice teaches the individual to mentally picture the step-by-step processes needed to accomplish a mission.

‘‘There is always a lot of stress in military life, so [service members] may be interested in stress reduction because of anxiety and they want something that is calming,” Stewart said. ‘‘We want to teach people a variety of skills they can use in a variety of circumstances.”

The Mind-Body Group meets every Thursday, 10 a.m. to noon in the Behavioral Health Clinic.