Abstract
Ways of Knowing and Being: Qualitative Study of Indigenous Perspectives on Trauma-Sensitive Yoga
by Kelsey M. Dietrich1,2, A
1Stress and Health Lab, Department of Psychology, East Carolina University
2Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Duluth
Cite as: Dietrich et al. (2024). Student Interests, Needs, and Preferences for Trauma-Sensitive Yoga at a Southeastern U.S. University. THE MIND Bulletin on Mind-Body Medicine Research, x, xxx. https://doi.org/10.61936/themind/202410091
Trauma threatens one’s life or sense of safety and can lead to debilitating symptoms for college students (American Psychiatric Association, 2022; Shannonhouse et al., 2023). Yoga is an emerging trauma treatment (Bisson et al., 2020) and common form of mind-body medicine used by college students (Nowak et al., 2024). Trauma Center Trauma-Sensitive Yoga (TCTSY; Emerson et al., 2009) is a protocolized yoga intervention for trauma care that focuses on mindfulness, interoception, and empowerment. TCTSY effectively reduces anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress (Price et al., 2017; Zaccari et al., 2023) with feasibility in clinical and community settings (Clark et al., 2014; Zaccari et al., 2022). To our knowledge, this was the first study of TCTSY with college students to document needs, interest, and preferences for TCTSY. Quota sampling recruitment occurred March-June 2024 at a southeastern U.S. public university via flyers, email, and Sona. Qualtrics surveys assessed demographics, trauma exposure (LEC-5, Weathers et
al., 2013), trauma symptoms (PC-PTSD-5, Prins et al., 2016), and yoga preferences (Kabiri et al., 2018). Compensation was Sona credit or gift card. From 339 participants (White 77%, female 68%, Christian 43%, first-year undergraduates 30%; M age = 23.7), 68% previously practiced yoga, and 89% never heard of trauma-sensitive yoga. On average, participants reported direct exposure to 2.96 traumatic events (most common = transportation accident (45%), index trauma = other unwanted/uncomfortable sexual experience (18%)) and subthreshold PTSD symptoms (M(SD) =1.66(1.56). Majority (73%) indicated interest in TCTSY programs, from which most common program preferences were 2 (40%) 45-minute sessions (46%) in-person (41%) for groups (69%) open to all trauma survivors (70%) over 4 weeks (19%). Cost was the top participation barrier. Implications for offering campus TCTSY in acceptable ways for the unique needs of college students will be discussed.
Keywords: yoga, trauma-sensitive yoga, college students, program preferences, PTSD, trauma