Les Daroff, PhD – Director of Mind-Body Medicine
Dr. Les Daroff, Director of Mind-Body Medicine/Psychoneuroimmunology (PNI) at CTCA at Eastern Regional Medical Center, believes strongly in the compassionate, whole-person approach at CTCA. Dr. Daroff says his primary goal for patients is to “provide an immediate atmosphere of hope and caring from the first moment of contact, and to maintain that throughout our relationship.”
Dr. Daroff has over 30 years of experience in the psychology field. Before joining CTCA in June 2007, he was the Director of Comprehensive Intervention Systems, a private practice in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, where he worked since 1980. Throughout his career, Dr. Daroff has led numerous lectures/workshops for the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) National and Regional Therapists Network, as well as universities and medical schools.
Dr. Daroff earned a Ph.D. degree at Temple University in Philadelphia. He earned a Master of Arts degree in Education at Antioch University in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he also earned his bachelor’s degree.
He holds clinical training certifications in several disciplines, including Tappas Acupressure Technique (TAT), Energy Diagnostics and Treatment Methods (EDxTM), Thought Field Therapy (TFT), and Thought Energy Synchronization Therapy. He is also a Board Certified Expert in Traumatic Stress (BCETS) by the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress.
Dr. Daroff says he was drawn to CTCA by the “variety of holistic, integrative modalities that CTCA offers to patients.” He says he has seen cancer patients be stressed, scared and saddened. He says their main concern is usually for the welfare of their family, who is also consumed with fear and worry. Dr. Daroff commends CTCA for providing mind-body services to patients and their caregivers to help everyone cope better during treatment.
Dr. Daroff and his team provide counseling to patients and their caregivers to help with individual and/or family issues, and coping strategies during cancer treatment. Dr. Daroff says he encourages patients to “take a mentally ‘active,’ rather than a ‘passive,’ role in their care.”
The mind-body medicine team also provides mind-body techniques and education to support patients and their caregivers during cancer treatment. For example, relaxation techniques aim to help reduce anxiety; guided imagery training aims to enhance relaxation; Reiki energy therapy aims to enhance relaxation and improve immune response; laughter therapy aims to reduce stress and improve mood; and Energy Psychology therapy aims to improve immune response and produce a more positive attitude. All of these adjunctive modalities can help reduce stress and increase patients’ immune response while creating a greater sense of well-being.
In addition, Dr. Daroff and his department interface on a daily basis with the other complementary medicine practitioners at CTCA, as well as physicians, nurses, care managers, social workers, and outpatient clinic staff. They all meet formally three times a week to discuss patient needs. Of the CTCA professional care team, Dr. Daroff says: “Nothing is more important to us than the patient’s health. That is our promise. That is the Mother Standard® of care in action.”
After experiencing the compassionate, personalized care provided at CTCA, Dr. Daroff says he has heard patients and their caregivers start to cry and say “CTCA is the most amazing place in the world…CTCA puts their money where their heart is!”
Dr. Daroff is a member of the Association for Comprehensive Energy Psychology (ACEP), the American Academy of Experts in Traumatic Stress, and the Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing International Association (EMDRIA).