A growing body of research has doctors around the world supporting the ever-increasing use of mind-body medicine, such as the use of meditation or hypnosis.

And San Francisco has the country's only university with accredited master's and doctorate programs in the field. Little-known Saybrook University offers online courses to about 600 students who study subjects like psychophysiology, nutrition, movement and hypnosis. This year the school is celebrating its 40th academic year.

University President Mark Schulman said medicine is evolving as more doctors realize that the mind plays a critical role in how the body performs.

"This is the new medicine," he said. "It's not just about diagnosing an illness."

Mind-body medicine uses techniques like acupuncture and meditation to help patients deal with conditions that may not be easily treated with drugs or surgery, such as stress or chronic pain.

Saybrook students include Cliff Smyth, who for nearly 20 years has specialized in helping patients with the Feldenkrais method. The practice uses movement like stretching and breathing exercises to ease pain.

Smyth said he enrolled in Saybrook because he could earn a master's degree and learn new techniques to incorporate into his current practice. He's taken courses such as guided imagery, in which patients use their thoughts to invoke certain emotions and feelings, which can affect mood and how the body feels pain.

"They really pull together all the research that's been done," Smyth said of his teachers.

What they're doing at Saybrook is gaining support in mainstream medical circles, experts say.

UCSF Medical Center's Osher Center for Integrative Medicine was founded to bridge the gap between mainstream and alternative medicine, working to provide patients with personalized treatments.

"It's rather striking that people will take some effort to sit down and quiet their mind," said Margaret Chesney, director of the Osher Center.