BOOK ENDORSEMENTS (scroll down for lecture endorsements)

Dr. Clarke has done a truly remarkable job of clarifying for patients and health care providers alike the essence of how mind and body interact in human illness. Through clearly written and captivating stories from his practice, he demonstrates how both patients and physicians can apply his teachings in a therapeutic manner. I plan to recommend this book to my patients.

Douglas A. Drossman MD; Professor of Medicine and Psychiatry; Co-Director, University of North Carolina Center for Functional GI and Motility Disorders; Past President of the American Psychosomatic Society. He is one of the world's leading authorities on functional gastrointestinal disorders.

They Can’t Find Anything Wrong is a spectacular accomplishment. It offers a refreshingly practical approach to problems that have been tying doctors and patients in knots since medicine became a science. By teaching through story telling, it speaks equally well to patients and health care professionals. Dr. Clarke’s methods have made me a better doctor by allowing me to help patients I otherwise wouldn’t know what to do with.

Erik Fromme, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine (Hematology & Oncology; Palliative Medicine)
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR

I found the book extremely valuable and clinically relevant. The rich array of examples is a powerful illustration of the therapeutic efficacy of skillful clinical listening. Dr. Clarke offers lessons that every clinician and patient can learn from. And the book is extremely readable; I literally could not put it down and read it all in one sitting, something that rarely happens with a book that is also making such subtle points about the human condition.

Jodi Halpern, MD, PhD
Associate Professor (School of Public Health)
University of California, Berkeley, CA
A psychiatrist, she is the author of From Detached Concern to Empathy: Humanizing Medical Practice, about the use of empathy in clinical practice which received a highly favorable review in the New England Journal of Medicine.

For the last thirty years, my experience with patients with serious illnesses and my personal experience has confirmed what this book reveals. I have learned that one cannot separate one's life from one's state of health. By reading this book patients can be empowered to help themselves heal their lives and cure their bodies. So read on and heal.

Bernie Siegel, MD Author of Love, Medicine & Miracles and Help Me To Heal

It has been a long time since I have read anything in medicine as illuminating as this book. I have always prided myself on being a good listener and uncovering hidden issues in patients but never realized how much I was missing. Even as a tenured Professor, from this book and its insights I have learned more than from any other educational source in medicine.

Brian Fennerty, MD
Professor of Medicine (Gastroenterology)
Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR

Dr. Clarke wonderfully gives us all, doctors and patients alike, the keys to pro-active self-help for troubles made worse by anxiety and stress.

Howard Spiro, M.D.
Professor of Medicine Emeritus, Yale Medical School; New Haven, CT. He was the last person to write a textbook of gastroenterology single-handed and has written several books on the humanistic side of medicine.

I almost died from cancer four years ago, but got better. Then about a year later I watched my father wither and die from cancer and I started getting severe nausea. I pushed my specialists to do every scan/blood test/second opinion I could get. They all told me the tests were normal and I was fine...only I wasn't! After a year of refusing to believe it could be stress illness, I read Dr. Clarke's book.

I now know I too have stress illness, although the treatment is hard. You don't just get to have surgery or a pill, but have to do real, tough insightful work. But I have made my lists, relaxed a little more, understood how my past influenced my present, and now my nausea is much less.

A Family Practice Physician & Stress Illness Patient

Dr. Clarke's book is required reading for our physician assistant students. Learning to assess stress illness should be part of every clinician's medical education. His book is an invaluable resource for teaching medical providers to evaluate and manage stress illness.

Judy Ortiz MHS, MS, PA-C
Academic Coordinator/Associate Director/Associate Professor
Pacific University School of Physician Assistant Studies; Hillsboro, OR

This book should be required reading for all medical students regardless of specialty, since we are formally taught nothing about the connection between stress and illness. It also would be an excellent and eye-opening resource for seasoned physicians who have not yet accepted that there is more to medicine than testable or visible diagnoses.

A Family Practice Physician

This book turns a spotlight onto the elephant in the exam room. I will be recommending it to many of my patients to help them understand the far-reaching effects of stress, to set the stage for fully analyzing their illnesses and to begin down the path to appropriate treatment and better health. This book will be the beginning of a much needed revolution as health care providers begin including (and patients begin anticipating) a stress evaluation in every patient visit.

A Physician Assistant

They Can't Find Anything Wrong has done more for me personally than all the other methods I have tried combined! It really gets to the heart of the matter. The individual stories are heart-breaking, tragic and triumphant. They helped me to conquer the last hurdles lingering from my past to become a stronger, healthier individual. The techniques really work. My improvement personally and professionally has been remarkable and I am happier than ever. Even my family has noticed the change. I will recommend this book to friends and family for years to come. It's just the boost modern medicine needs!

Sarah Willett, RN

WORKSHOP ENDORSEMENTS (To request a workshop, click here)

Dr. Clarke is the most gifted person I have ever met in teaching about stress-related illness and was a remarkably effective speaker at our Palliative Care conference.

Susan W. Tolle, MD, FACP
Cornelia Hayes Stevens Chair
Director, Center for Ethics in Health Care, Oregon Health & Science University; Portland, OR

Dr. Clarke is teaching a key topic which is often overlooked or given mere lip service: stress illness and its many manifestations. Furthermore, his lecture focuses on key skills in history taking, demonstrates many clinical pictures, and provides resources and skills well within reach of thoughtful clinicians. His talk should be presented to all medical students, residents and attendings. It will serve to reduce patient suffering, physician anxieties, and soaring health care costs.

Dennis Low, MD
Chief, Division of Primary Care, Santa Clara Valley Medical Center; Clinical Professor of Medicine, Stanford University

Thank you isn’t enough to say for your outstanding presentation today and the way that you contributed to my students’ learning. I told my faculty colleagues that you were one of the best guest speakers I have ever had come to any of my classes that I took as a student or have taught. You have an amazing gift of intuition that I often think is hard to teach and yet you were able to influence us all with your excellent examples, questions, and information. I hope I can have you back in the years to come. I also wonder how I can bring more of what you have to offer to Eugene and our healthcare community.  Many thanks.

Deanna Linville, Ph.D.; Associate Professor, Counseling Psychology & Human Services;University of Oregon, Eugene, OR

 

Dr. Clarke has had a keen interest in the treatment of patients with medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) for 25 years. He has seen more than 7000 patients suffering from MUS, distinguishing him as one of the world's foremost clinical authorities on this topic.

Anthony J. Stern, MD; Assistant Professor of Psychiatry, Montefiore/Albert Einstein, Bronx, NY.

 

The information Dr Clarke presented about diagnosis and treatment was invaluable and delivered in a lively and entertaining fashion. Stress illness patients in primary care are often extremely sick yet escape diagnosis and fail conventional treatments, continuing to suffer and seek help over long periods of time. They are often some of the most costly patients for a managed care organization. Dr. Clarke demonstrated the value of accurate diagnosis and showed that treatment can be as simple as increasing patients’ self awareness and understanding of their own mind and body interactions.

Every clinician should arm himself/herself with this information and bring it into daily clinical practice. The savings in human suffering and health care dollars would be phenomenal.

Nancy Selfridge, MD, ABIHM; Chief of Complementary Medicine, Group Health Cooperative of South Central Wisconsin

I thoroughly enjoyed your Grand Rounds. The house staff told me that your approach was refreshing and something that rarely gets much discussed, but is always in the picture. The case presentations made it all the better. I look forward to getting you back in Phoenix.

Peter P. McKellar, MD; Associate Director, Internal Medicine Residency Program, Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center, Phoenix, AZ

Dr. Clarke's presentations on stress illness are as inspiring as they are informative. Most physicians suspect the role of stress in illness but lack the skill to make the connection in a therapeutic way. Dr. Clarke's presentation makes clear and practical some of the most subtle (yet powerful) techniques in medicine.

Erik K. Fromme, MD
Assistant Professor of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University; Portland, OR

OHSU Family Medicine Review Conference, February 2008

Value of Content = 4.72; Effectiveness of Presentation = 4.84 (170 Responses; Scale = 1-5, 5 = Excellent)

"The best presentation ever." "One of the most useful lectures ever!" "Should be presented regularly as the subject affects 98% of all primary care practices." "Excellent, humane clinician/speaker." "Dr. Clarke has given me courage." "Most useful talk - I'll use his handout a lot in assessing patients." "Fabulous speaker." "Dr. Clarke is great - thank you."

OHSU Palliative Care Conference, June 2008

Knowledge of Subject = 3.91; Clarity of Presentation = 3.94 (114 Responses; Scale = 1-4, 4 = Excellent)

"Wow, your stories have inspired me." "Eye opening - creates opportunity to understand people (including myself) better - with more sensitivity." "Best presentation all day - new, innovative info." "Excellent and funny." "An after lunch speaker who didn't put me to sleep or lose my attention. Remarkable!" "Very good insight into my father." "Seeing that symptoms can come about many years later is enlightening, not only in my own life, but helps me as a health professional to be more aware, intuitive and empathetic to my patients." "Great, knowledgeable, likeable and funny speaker. Thanks!"

Good Samaritan Regional Medical Center Grand Rounds; Corvallis, OR; June 2010. Please evaluate your confidence in your ability to discuss Stress Issues with your patients (number responding).

	None or Some	Moderate/High
Before Lecture	21	7
After Lecture	4	24

 

BOOK REVIEWS

I highly recommend this book. Through storytelling and real life examples, Dr Clarke effectively captures the wisdom and respect inherent in his approach to patients. It is a potential classic.

The Permanente Journal

Clarke's model is clearly packaged, and it could easily help people start on the path to healing. Mental health counselors and primary-care physicians should have this book in their waiting rooms.

Library Journal

Also featured in Elle magazine: "It's Not All in Your Head"; December, 2007.