Margaret A. Brown

Randomized Controlled Clinical Trial of Yoga in the Treatment of Eating Disorders

PURPOSE This was a pilot project designed to assess the effect of individualized yoga treatment on eating disorder outcomes among adolescents receiving outpatient care for diagnosed eating disorders (anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, eating disorder not otherwise specified). METHODS A total of 50 girls and 4 boys aged 11-21 years were randomized to an 8-week trial of standard care vs. individualized yoga plus standard care. Of these, 27 were randomized to standard care and 26 to yoga plus standard care (attrition: n = 4). Standard care (every other week physician and/or dietician appointments) was required to meet ethical guidelines. The No Yoga group was offered yoga after study completion as an incentive to maintain participation. Outcomes evaluated at baseline, end of trial, and 1-month follow-up included Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), Body Mass Index (BMI), Beck Depression Inventory, State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and Food Preoccupation questionnaire. RESULTS The Yoga group demonstrated greater decreases in eating disorder symptoms. Specifically, the EDE scores decreased over time in the Yoga group, whereas the No Yoga group showed some initial decline but then returned to baseline EDE levels at week 12. Food preoccupation was measured before and after each yoga session, and decreased significantly after all sessions. Both groups maintained current BMI levels and decreased in anxiety and depression over time. CONCLUSIONS Individualized yoga treatment decreased EDE scores at 12 weeks, and significantly reduced food preoccupation immediately after yoga sessions. Yoga treatment did not have a negative effect on BMI. Results suggest that individualized yoga therapy holds promise as adjunctive therapy to standard care.

Service learning in psychology: Enhancing undergraduate education for the public good.

Service learning is an educational approach in which students use knowledge and skills learned in the classroom when engaged in activities with community partners. Service learning projects can cover a wide range of activities, such as helping the homeless, tutoring children, developing informational materials (e.g., brochures), evaluating the efficacy of an organization’s services, conducting research in support of social reform, and promoting awareness of social issues, such as domestic violence. Service learning is more than applied learning; it is “the integration of academic material, relevant service activities, and critical reflection in a reciprocal partnership that engages students, faculty, staff, and community members to achieve academic, civic, and personal [growth] learning objectives as well as to advance public purposes” (Bringle & Clayton, 2012, p. 105). The integration of service learning and psychology was explored in With Service in Mind: Concepts and Models for Service Learning in Psychology Introduction

Enhancing the Psychology Curriculum Through Service Learning

Educators in psychology should aspire to encourage students’ holistic growth in academic, personal, and civic domains. We propose that service learning is the most potent pedagogy for developing well-rounded, psychologically literate citizens capable of meeting the goals for the undergraduate psychology major. This article defines service learning, delineates the rationales for service learning, and summarizes research demonstrating the efficacy of this pedagogical approach. The article also describes the learning objectives derived from the American Psychological Association Guidelines for the Undergraduate Major (Version 2.0, 2013), with an emphasis on the ways in which service learning contributes to academic learning, civic learning, and personal growth. Finally, the article illustrates the four types of service learning, and it provides a concrete example for structuring reflection in order to connect community experiences with course content in a service learning psychology course.