Body-mind-spirit group therapy for Chinese medicine stagnation syndrome - RCT with self-report and physiological meassures

Body-mind-spirit group therapy for Chinese medicine stagnation syndrome - RCT with self-report and physiological measures Chinese medicine diagnosis stagnation syndrome is characterized by mind-body obstruction-like symptoms such as repressed emotions, feeling stomach clogged, something obstructing throat and heavy head. Its emphasis on somatic symptoms makes it a socially legitimate health condition for adults in distress to seek help. Stagnation syndrome is common, with a point-prevalence at 6.2% revealed in our epidemiological study. Our previous studies have also operationalized stagnation as a construct useful to all mental health practitioners, and piloted a 6-session group therapy for stagnation syndrome grounded on a body-mind-spirit intervention model. The current randomized controlled trial aims to further rigorously evaluate the efficacy of the manualized intervention. Totally 126 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to either treatment or control group. Outcomes were measured at pre, post and 2 months after intervention, and evaluated by self-report scales and salivary cortisol level. Repeated measures ANOVA revealed significant superiority of treatment over control groups in self-report measures and mean cortisol level, mostly at moderate effect size. Regarding diurnal slope of cortisol level, changes were nonsignificant. The findings provide evidence supporting the efficacy of the body-mind-spirit group therapy, which actualizes the holistic tradition of Chinese medicine in modern health practice. Evaluating the stagnation concept and group intervention in other cultures is worth pursuing. This research is funded by Research Grant Council of the Hong Kong SAR Government (Ref. no. GRF 748013) Key words: Stagnation; Chinese medicine; Group therapy; RC