Jody Thomas

Brainstormer, Consultant, Doctor, World traveler

Dr. Jody Thomas discovered her passion for medically fragile children and their families way back in high school, when she nearly died in a car accident at 17. A year later, as a freshman at Stanford, she found herself volunteering at the children’s hospital as a way to give back, and to give her own near death experience meaning. Her work at Paul Newman’s camps for medically ill children was a transformative experience, convincing her of the healing power of play and solidifying her conviction that this was her calling. That set her path for her doctorate in clinical psychology and a life dedicated to helping children live with (not suffer from) illness, especially when that life is cut shorter than anyone would ever choose. Frustrated by some of the limitations of traditional medicine, she became an expert in the mind body connection, and harnessing the power of imagination through hypnosis. Jody now serves as faculty of the National Pediatric Hypnosis Training Institute, teaching clinicians from all over the world to use this powerful self-regulation tool to bring relief to and empower their own patients. An expert in pediatric pain, Jody is committed to finding ways that no child suffer needlessly. As faculty at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Jody developed and served as Clinical Director of the Pediatric Pain Rehabilitation Center. Her current focus is on working to close the frankly unforgivable 30+ year gap better the research in pain management and actual clinical practice. Appalled by the amount of trauma children and families needlessly endure, she is working on projects at Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford for the improvement of procedural pain, and prevention of medical trauma in children. While the project is starting at Stanford, the goal is create something that can be recreated on a global scale in medical centers around the world. Jody is passionate about empowering children and families with how to help themselves, and turn the illness experience into a challenge to overcome rather than just a trial to be endured…transforming a patient’s own story to be one of epic strength and not that of a victim. Her core belief in the life is that people are always stronger than they think they are, and some of us are given the inconceivably challenging and sometimes tragic opportunities to discover that strength. She finds is an incredible and sacred honor that families allow her into their lives during this most vulnerable time to make that very journey.

Transforming the way we provide health care to children, and preventing medical trauma through empowering children and families. The transformative and necessary power of play for kids of all ages! My kids!

I'm here at TED as part of a Make A Wish trip for an amazing and strong young woman!

white water rafting, sea kayaking, and snow boarding!