cohen has been involved with numerous studies examining psychosocial and integrative medicine interventions to improve quality of life and outcomes for patients with cancer and other serious diseases, including therapies such as reiki, "energy medicine", acupuncture, and yoga. david gorski has called the topics of cohen's research quackery and a waste of taxpayer dollars; he has criticized cohen for taking a credulous stance on pseudoscience. his directorship of integrative medicine at md anderson cancer center has been criticized for offering ineffective treatments to patients.