Exploring the Effectiveness of a Modified Comprehensive Mind-Body Intervention for Medical and Psychologic Symptom Relief

Background: Chronic illnesses are a major current health concern associated with elevated stress and increased health care costs. Objective: The objective of this study was to describe the preliminary effectiveness of a modified, multimodal 8 week mind-body intervention on reducing physical and psychological symptoms in patients with chronic physical, mental and comorbid health issues. Methods: Two hundred and twenty six adults enrolled in a mind-body group program and completed pre and post program assessments (63% completer rate), including the Medical Symptoms Checklist (MSCL), Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP-II), and Symptom Checklist 90R (SCL-90R). Results: Significant improvement was found on 9 of 23 medical symptoms (p <.002), all health promoting lifestyle behaviors (p <.001), and all mental health symptoms (p <.001). Conclusions: These results indicate that a multimodal mind-body intervention might be useful as a complementary or adjunct therapy for treatment of chronic medical symptoms. Future research is needed to test the intervention using a randomized controlled trial.