The science

The Library

The practices at Halcyon are old. The research on them is newer, and growing. These are the studies we read and return to, each with a short note in plain language and a link to the original paper. We share them to inform, not to promise, and none of it is medical advice.

6 studies

Healing Through Dance · Somatic and Movement Healing

Effects of Dance Movement Therapy and Dance on Health-Related Psychological Outcomes. A Meta-Analysis Update

Koch SC, Riege RFF, Tisborn K, et al.

Frontiers in Psychology · 2019

This meta-analysis updated earlier reviews by gathering 41 controlled studies published between 2012 and 2018, with 2,374 participants in total. Twenty-one studies tested dance movement therapy, a therapeutic approach led by trained therapists, and 20 tested dance classes or programs. Overall there was a medium effect on psychological health outcomes such as quality of life, depression, anxiety, social skills, thinking skills and motor skills. Dance movement therapy showed a smaller but consistent effect on depression, anxiety, quality of life and social and cognitive skills, while dance programs showed larger but less consistent effects, especially on movement skills. Follow-up data suggested most effects held about 22 weeks later. Limitations: results varied a lot between studies, larger effects came from observer-rated measures that may be biased, and many studies had methodological weaknesses.

Read the original ↗

Yoga · Somatic and Movement Healing

Yoga for chronic non-specific low back pain

Wieland LS, Skoetz N, Pilkington K, et al.

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews · 2022

This Cochrane review assessed yoga for adults with chronic low back pain that has no specific identified cause. It included 21 randomized trials with 2,223 participants, mostly women in their 40s and 50s practicing Iyengar, hatha or viniyoga styles. Compared with no exercise, yoga produced small improvements in back function and pain at three months, smaller than what is usually considered clinically important, along with a small improvement in physical and mental quality of life and possibly a higher chance that people rated their back as improved. Compared with other back-focused exercise, yoga made little or no difference. Yoga was also associated with more adverse events, mainly temporary increases in back pain. A key limitation is that participants could not be blinded, and most outcomes were self-reported.

Read the original ↗

Meditation · Yoga

Meditation and yoga for posttraumatic stress disorder: A meta-analytic review of randomized controlled trials

Gallegos AM, Crean HF, Pigeon WR, et al.

Clinical Psychology Review · 2017

This meta-analysis pooled 19 randomized controlled trials, covering 1,173 adults, that tested meditation or yoga for posttraumatic stress disorder. The researchers also checked whether results differed by type of practice, population, outcome measure, or control group. In this analysis, meditation and yoga were associated with a small to medium reduction in PTSD symptoms overall. No clear differences appeared between meditation and yoga or across populations, though smaller studies tended to show larger effects. The authors conclude these complementary approaches are promising and warrant further study. An honest limitation: the pattern of larger effects in small studies suggests that some estimates may be inflated, and these practices were studied as complements rather than replacements for established treatment.

Read the original ↗

Somatic and Movement Healing · Yoga

Yoga as an Adjunctive Treatment for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

van der Kolk BA, Stone L, West J, et al.

The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry · 2014

This randomized controlled trial examined trauma-informed yoga for 64 women with chronic PTSD that had not responded to earlier treatment. Participants attended either a weekly one-hour trauma-informed yoga class or a supportive women's health education class for 10 weeks. In this study, 52% of the yoga group no longer met criteria for PTSD at the end, compared with 21% of the control group. Both groups improved in the first half of treatment, but the yoga group kept its gains while the control group tended to slip back. The authors suggest yoga may help people tolerate body sensations tied to fear and build emotional awareness. A limitation is the modest sample of women only, so results may not generalize to everyone.

Read the original ↗

Somatic and Movement Healing

Somatic experiencing - effectiveness and key factors of a body-oriented trauma therapy: a scoping literature review

Kuhfuß M, Maldei T, Hetmanek A, et al.

European Journal of Psychotraumatology · 2021

This scoping review set out to summarize what is known about Somatic Experiencing, a therapy that addresses trauma by working with body sensations connected to the traumatic experience. The authors searched the literature through August 2020, found 83 articles, and analyzed the 16 that met their criteria. In this review, there was preliminary evidence of positive effects on PTSD-related symptoms, and early signs of benefit for mood, physical symptoms and wellbeing in both traumatized and non-traumatized groups. Practitioners and clients pointed to a focus on resources and the use of touch as key ingredients. An honest limitation: overall study quality was mixed, and the authors call for more unbiased randomized trials.

Read the original ↗

Somatic and Movement Healing

Somatic Experiencing for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: A Randomized Controlled Outcome Study

Brom D, Stokar Y, Lawi C, et al.

Journal of Traumatic Stress · 2017

This was described as the first randomized controlled study of Somatic Experiencing, a body-focused therapy for trauma. Sixty-three adults meeting full criteria for PTSD were randomly assigned to 15 weekly Somatic Experiencing sessions or to a waitlist, and the waitlist group later received the therapy too. In this study, the treatment group showed significant reductions in posttraumatic symptom severity and depression compared with the waitlist, and these changes were still present at follow-up. The authors conclude Somatic Experiencing may be an effective approach for PTSD. An honest limitation: the comparison was a waitlist rather than another active therapy, and the authors say more research is needed to understand who benefits most.

Read the original ↗