Happy Holidays from your friends here at the Behavioral Diabetes Institute! As we look back at 2019 we see what a productive time it has been:

• Behavioral diabetes research: BDI staff continues to be actively involved in scientific research. During 2019, we authored or co-authored 14 scientific publications and 6 poster presentations at major scientific meetings. Our work has covered a wide range, including studies to alleviating diabetes distress, how continuous glucose monitoring influences psychosocial and glycemic outcomes, how hypoglycemia affects family members, new strategies for address problematic medication adherence, and more.

• Training for healthcare professionals: Throughout the year, we have continued to present on the subject of behavioral diabetes across the country and around the world at major scientific meetings, at key medical centers, and all national TCOYD events. In addition, we launched “Diabetes Turning Points”, an abbreviated version of our San Diego-based intensive training, “Promoting Behavior Change in Diabetes: A Skill Building Program for Health Care Professionals”, and began to offer the programs across North America.

• Case consultation group for mental health professionals: BDI has been proud to host our colleagues as we gather monthly to review and discuss our ongoing behavioral diabetes counseling experiences. Contact us at info@behavioraldiabetes.org if you would like further information.

• New groups programs for adults with diabetes. Early in 2019, we began Diabetes Tune-Up, a six-month group program for people who were struggling with their diabetes. We were delighted by the success of this program, and have scheduled a further series for 2020.

• Behavioral diabetes counseling: Of course, we continue to provide individual counseling every day to people who are struggling with diabetes. This critical part of our mission will never stop!

Furthermore, several of our favorite online programs and tools are becoming more and more popular. Just to remind you of two:

• CME video series: Don’t forget that our first series of nine new web-based video modules for health care professionals, “Critical Psychosocial Issues in Diabetes” remain available, and at no cost! See https://cme.ucsd.edu/psychosocialdiabetes/. We give thanks to the generous support of Eli Lilly, Boehringer Ingelheim and Merck for making this possible.
• DiabetesDistress.org: Any person with diabetes (PWD) as well as any healthcare professional (HCP) now has an easy way to complete the Diabetes Distress Scale on your PC or phone, have your scores tabulated automatically, and find helpful suggestions about how to interpret your results and helpful suggestions for action. Special kudos to BDI Research Director, Dr. Larry Fisher, for his leadership and all of his hard work on this new program.

And what’s upcoming in January?

• January 7. On Tuesday night, Diabetes Tune-Up, a six-month group program (this will be a once-a-month evening meeting) will begin here in San Diego. In this program, Drs. Polonsky, Guzman and Nouhi will be helping you to get back on track with diabetes. So if you are feeling tired, frustrated or overwhelmed with diabetes, or worried about complications, or struggling with how to fit diabetes into your life, or feeling that family and friends just don’t seem to understand, then Diabetes Tune-Up might be right for you. Want to find out more? Then join us for this no-obligation, introductory evening on Tuesday, January 7, 6:30 – 8:00 pm at BDI World HQ (5405 Oberlin Drive, Suite 100, San Diego, CA 92121). We will discuss the emotional side of diabetes, present practical real-life strategies to help you manage life with diabetes more easily and successfully, and—for those who are interested—describe the Diabetes Tune-Up All people with 1 or Type 2 diabetes and their loved ones are invited, and this introductory event is FREE! For more information, contact us at info@behavioraldiabetes.org.

• January 8. BDI will host our next, San Diego-wide, case consultation meeting (for mental health professionals working in the field of diabetes). Contact us at info@behavioraldiabetes.org if you would like further information about this program and about our future meetings.

• Lots will be happening in February as well. Drs. Susan Guzman and Liana Abascal will be presenting at the 2nd International Conference on Diabetes and Eating Disorders, February 7 – 9, here in San Diego, CA, while Dr. Polonsky will be presenting at the International Diabetes Camping Conference on February 10, also here in San Diego, and at the Taking Control of Your Diabetes Conferences in Bellevue (WA) and Honolulu. More details about these and other February events will be detailed later in January!

And for the rest of 2020? While our research and live training programs will continue to grow, our main goal is to expand our online programs for people with diabetes and for healthcare professionals. We are actively seeking funding through grants and donations to make this programming possible. As always, now and in the future, we here at the BDI remain committed to highlighting and addressing the unmet emotional and psychological needs of people with diabetes around the world.

And we wish each and every one of you all the best for 2020!