Guest Profile

Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle

Olivia Ames Hoblitzelle is a writer, therapist, and teacher. She taught in the field of Behavioral Medicine where she pioneered the integration of meditation, yoga, and cognitive therapy with traditional Western medicine. While teaching at the Mind/Body Medical Institute, she helped develop one of the first training programs in Mind/Body medicine in the country and through Harvard Medical School trained health professionals to apply new approaches to health and healing.

Her teaching and writing are inspired by over 40 years of practice in psychology, Buddhist meditation and other wisdom traditions. She has introduced contemplative practices in a wide variety of settings including government agencies, businesses, hospitals, organizations, churches, and school systems.

In 2010 she published her award-winning book TEN THOUSAND JOYS AND TEN THOUSAND SORROWS: A Couple’s Journey Through Alzheimer’s (Tarcher/Penguin, 2010).

Now an elder with two grown children and four grandsons, Olivia continues to teach, counsel, and write, focusing on elder issues, spirituality, and conscious aging. For the last 12 years she has taught a course titled “Conscious Aging and Mindfulness Meditation.” This exploration has culminated in her new book AGING WITH WISDOM: Reflections, Stories and Teachings (Monkfish Book Publishing, November 14, 2017.)