Studying the Effectiveness and Implementation of Sudarshan Kriya Yoga for Canadian Veterans With PTSD
PTSD, Depressive Symptoms, Anxiety
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for PTSD focused on measuring Veteran, Armed forces, Royal Canadian Mounted Police, RCMP, Meditation, Sudarshan Kriya Yoga, Breathing-based meditation
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Aged 18 years or older.
- CAF or RCMP veteran.
- Meet criteria for current PTSD as determined by a score of >38 on the PTSD Checklist-5 (PCL-5).
Exclusion Criteria:
- Participation in another concurrent clinical trial.
- Intention to begin a new course of Behavioural Therapy (e.g., Cognitive Behavioural Therapy including Prolonged Exposure or Cognitive Processing Therapy) during the intervention period.
- Past participation in virtual or in-person SKY.
- Initiated psychotropic medication within 8 weeks prior to the initial screening. Excluded participants could be re-considered for eligibility after stability on medication was achieved.
- Risk of imminent suicidal intent at screening as per MINI screening and standard tool. Such patients will be advised to visit their local emergency department.
- Mental disorders including schizophrenia, bipolar I, psychosis of any type.
- Seizure disorder not well controlled.
- Moderate or severe substance use disorder as per the MINI.
- Neurocognitive impairment as determined by a score of 23 or less on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MOCA) mini version.
- Unable to connect to the internet and use Zoom for study assessments and interventions.
- Inability to provide informed consent.
Sites / Locations
- Sinai HealthRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
No Intervention
Active intervention (ACT) group
Waitlist control (WLC) group
8-12 participants will meet for 3-hour sessions for the first 5 days of the intervention. This is followed by five weeks of 1-hour sessions twice per week. In total, the intervention will be 15 sessions that run for a total of 25 hours over 6-weeks. Experienced and licensed SKY instructors from the International Association for Human Values (IAHV) and Art of Living Foundation (AOLF) will provide the intervention through video calls. Instructors will guide participants through the v-SKY intervention through visual demonstrations and verbal guidance. All sessions will be delivered virtually using Zoom. Sessions will not be recorded.
8-12 participants will not receive the intervention for 6-weeks. The 6-weeks will line up with the v-SKY intervention that the ACT group receives. After the waitlist period, the WLC group will receive the same v-SKY intervention as the ACT group. According to our earlier estimates, a high number of veterans with PTSD may not be actively receiving treatment for their illness. For these reasons, a waitlist control design may better reflect the current treatment environment for veterans with PTSD.