The Immediate Effect of Raja-Yoga Group Therapy on the Well-Being of Psychiatric Outpatients - An Exploratory Single-center Retrospective Study

Purpose: To examine the effect of Raja-yoga group therapy on the immediate well-being of psychiatric outpatients compared to a standard method, namely supportive-dynamic group psychotherapy. Methods: Seventy-two psychiatric outpatients, the subjects, with DSM IV-R mood, anxiety and other disorders, underwent group therapy utilizing Raja-yoga treatment. The current Axis V GAF scores of the subjects were between 55 and 70. The principal author, a psychiatrist led the treatment, which consisted of teaching the philosophy of Raja-yoga, its breathing exercises (pranayama), a few of its postures, and meditation. The subjects rated their sense of well-being at the start of and at the end of each session, on a subjective, Likert scale. The same psychiatrist also treated a group of seven private psychiatric outpatients, who served as controls, with supportive-dynamic group psychotherapy. They had DSM IV-R mood and anxiety disorders. The current Axis V GAF scores of the controls were between 60 and 70. Self-reported scores of well-being of the controls were collected in the same manner. The differences in scores in the two groups were compared statistically. Results: Subjects attended an average number of 5.5 sessions. Controls attended an average of 7.7 sessions. Subjects experienced an average improvement in well-being of 34%, whereas controls experienced an average improvement of 8%. Age, gender, ethnicity, diagnosis, or the number of treatment sessions did not predict the effectiveness of the Raja-yoga group therapy but a low baseline score of well-being did. There was no predictor revealed for effectiveness in the controls. Interpretation: Raja-yoga group therapy conferred an immediate, substantial improvement on psychiatric outpatients’ sense of well-being, much more so than supportive-dynamic psychotherapy. To our knowledge, such data are previously unreported. We propose that Raja-yoga treatment shows promise as an alternative form of group psychotherapy.