Workshop: A3 - Using Yoga in School-Based Health Centers

This workshop will be held on Monday, June 27th from 9:45am to 11:00am in Ballroom C.

This year, I have the good fortune of presenting a Success Story to the participants (and readers) of the NASBHC national conference. The “story” is really about our delightful social worker, who was already doing expert mental health work with adolescents in Durham, North Carolina. A specialist in therapy for adolescent anxiety, depression, stress-related disorders and substance abuse, Donna was well known to adolescents at our health center where we have worked together for several years. She is skilled in motivational interviewing and anticipatory guidance among teens and is a trusted provider that the adolescents enjoy. Donna was using yoga for her own health and relaxation, and eventually progressed to becoming a certified instructor. Together, she and I began to consider the possibility of using gentle yoga as an effective non-pharmacological tool for teens with anxiety and depression at our SBHC. The clinic had enough space for a class, the students (and their caregivers) were more than willing to try gentle yoga practice in the safe and secure setting of the clinic and the school faculty supported students learning this “life skill” to reduce anxiety during a one-hour session each week. The happy marriage of Donna our skilled mental health provider/yogi and the SBHC resulted in relaxation/health and improved well-being for more than a dozen adolescent women.

A very basic pre-test/post-test evaluation of the yoga initiative (using a 10-point likert scale evaluation tool) was completed by participants. While disappointed in these results, we believe the “insignificant effect of yoga” was due the less-than-optimal timing of the post-test evaluation—done more than a week after the final yoga practice, right when the participants were needing (and wanting!) another hour of yoga most. What we can tell you is that the practice resulted in a lifting of the spirit…the girls participating would literally drag into the clinic looking downcast and “blah” and FLOAT out of it, glowing and refreshed….the combination of Donna’s soothing voice, the opportunity to clear their minds of all worry and anxiety and the final moments of rest at the end of the hour were obviously restorative and healing. The fact that each of the participants returned week after week for yoga sessions also indicated an effective therapy had been found. Interestingly, in the time period that yoga practice was provided in the SBHC, none of the teens became pregnant, were suspended from school, or performed self-harming behaviors. Best of all, each of the girls asked to continue yoga practice. THEY found value in it and wanted to continue.

The story does not end here. More and more research indicates that yoga is an effective means of reducing anxiety and stress in adolescents. It is being used successfully in substance treatment programs (adult and adolescent), and as an adjunct therapy. Yoga training is being encouraged for mental health providers who come so well equipped with skills of mental health assessment, motivational interviewing and basic relaxation therapy.

Check our links from the conference presentation for more information and research data and think strongly about USING YOGA in your SBHC, especially if you have a staff member or community resource that is willing to share their talents and expertise. You can contact me or Donna with any questions.

Namaste,

Anne Derouin (anne.derouin@duke.edu)
Donna Eash (donna.eash@duke.edu)