Season 2
Mind-Body Interventions to Promote Mental Health
In this podcast we will talk about the mind-body interventions that help with mental health symptoms like depression and anxiety. Physical therapist, Dr. Ellen Anderson, shares the research about body and mind connections (spoiler alert… it’s in our breath!) , and some of the up and coming programs that may be helpful like yoga, body awareness programs and tai chi.
Hosts & Guests
Dr. Michelle Zechner
Dr. Ellen Anderson (Special Guest – See bio below).
Resources
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (2022). Meditation and Mindfulness: What you need to know. Retrieved from: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation-and-mindfulness-what-you-need-to-know
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (2022). Yoga: What you need to know. Retrieved from: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/yoga-what-you-need-to-know
National Center for Complementary and Integrative Medicine (2022). Relaxation Techniques: What You Need To Know. Retrieved from: https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/relaxation-techniques-what-you-need-to-know
Centers for Disease Control – Benefits of Physical Activity https://www.cdc.gov/physicalactivity/basics/pa-health/index.htm
International Association of Teachers in Body Based Awareness Therapy (2018). What is BBAT? Retrieved from: http://www.iatbbat.com/basic-body-awareness-therap.html
Tabak NT, Horan WP, Green MF. Mindfulness in schizophrenia: Associations with self-reported motivation, emotion regulation, dysfunctional attitudes, and negative symptoms. Schizophr Res. 2015 Oct;168(1-2):537-42. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2015.07.030. Epub 2015 Jul 29. PMID: 26232242; PMCID: PMC4591204.
Takeaways From This Episode
We’ve probably all seen the relationship between our minds and our bodies, particularly for people experiencing stress or distress, which causes our breathing to become shallow and fast… which causes more anxiety and stress! This podcast explores mind and body techniques which can promote mental health and recovery, and the mechanism or “how” these techniques are helpful. Mind-body interventions include many types of interventions where we ask people to pay attention to this moment in time (mindfulness), movements and include some type of breath work. Some examples include yoga, tai chi, mindfulness and even walking!
Mind-body interventions are popular, low cost to deliver and are effective in helping people to reduce stress, self-manage emotions, and improve depression and anxiety. Mind-body interventions are also part of other mental health interventions such as Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction.
An emerging area of mind-body interventions for people with mental health conditions, and one that is popular in European countries is called Body Based Awareness Therapy (BBAT). BBAT supports people who experience a disconnect between mind and body, and the experience of the body in the world, to bring the person, their body and their movements together to improve mental health and physical outcomes (BBAT, 2018).
A few things that mental health professionals should consider when using mind-body interventions; 1) Mindfulness for people with psychosis or hallucinations may be best used in combination with movement and limited to short periods of internal reflection, to avoid exacerbating mania or psychosis (Tabak et al., 2015); 2) Breathwork for people experiencing medical conditions such as COPD or emphysema may lead to increasing anxiety. A greater focus on noticing breath (e.g. notice your in breath, notice your exhale) is recommended in these situations instead of changing breathing patterns.
Research demonstrates that physical movements that support our emotional well-being and we are just at the tip of the iceberg of understanding mind-body influences emotional well-being. Join us for a fascinating conversation about this best practice.
And if you want to explore some mind-body strategies for yourself, please check out the series that Ellen and I developed to help people manage stress in daily life through mindful movement! https://mhttcnetwork.org/centers/northeast-caribbean-mhttc/product/provider-wellness-videos
Special Guest
Ellen Zambo Anderson, Ph.D.
Senior Consultant
Dr. Ellen Zambo Anderson has a Bachelor’s degree in Physical Therapy from West Virginia University, a Master’s in Motor Learning and Control from Columbia University, and a PhD in Health Sciences from Rutgers University. She has been a PT for 40 years and is a Professor Emerita from Rutgers School of Health Professions. Dr. Anderson is the co-author of the textbook, Complementary Therapies for Physical Therapy and is the Co-Owner of YogiAnatomy, a company that provides continuing education on the topics related to complementary approaches for managing well-being, health, and function.
Stay Connected
The Northeast & Caribbean MHTTC served New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the US Virgin Islands and was based at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, within the School of Health Professions, Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation and Counseling Professions.
During this time period, the organization provided essential training, technical assistance, and resource dissemination to support and enhance the mental health workforce.
With funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), the MHTTC collaborated with organizations and practitioners providing mental health services to enhance their capacity for delivering effective, evidence-based interventions.
This site is now part of the Northeast and Caribbean MHTTC ARCHIVE.
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Department of Psychiatric Rehabilitation & Counseling Professions
675 Hoes Lane West
8th Floor
Piscataway, NJ 08854
Dr. Ann Murphy
murphyaa@shp.rutgers.edu