Effectiveness of body–mind–spirit intervention on well‐being, functional impairment and quality of life among depressive patients – a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Aim The aim of the study was to examine the efficacy of body–mind–spirit Intervention in improving the outcomes (well-being, quality of life and functional impairment) among depressive patients. Background Depressive disorders lead to significant dysfunction, disability and poor quality of life among sufferers. Body–mind–spirit intervention has been associated with improvements in the outcomes; however, few studies have examined this among depressive patients. Design True experimental pre–post equivalent groups design was adopted with longitudinal measurement of outcomes. Methods Participants were 120 adult depressive patients visiting the psychiatric outpatient department in a District Hospital in India. The participants were randomly assigned to either the body–mind–spirit group or the treatment-as-usual group between July 2011–January 2013. The treatment-as-usual group (n = 64) received only routine treatment (antidepressants and structured psycho-education) in the hospital. The body–mind–spirit group (n = 56) received four weekly body–mind–spirit group sessions in addition to the routine treatment. Outcome measures on depression, well-being, functional impairment and quality of life were evaluated for both groups at baseline and at four follow-up assessments in the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 6th month. Treatment effects of the body–mind–spirit intervention were analysed by repeated-measures analysis of covariance. Findings Compared with the treatment-as-usual group, the body–mind–spirit group showed significant reduction in depression and functional impairment, and significant improvement in the well-being and quality of life scores over the 6-month study period. Conclusion The present findings provided evidence for the effectiveness of integrating a complementary therapy such as the body–mind–spirit intervention with conventional treatment in improving prospective outcomes among the depressive patients.