EVA Alumni Talks: Nina Vollbehr - "Yoga for depression: effects and potential working mechanisms"

In the fourth talk of this series, Nina Vollbehr discussed the effects and potential working mechanism of Yoga for deprression. Yoga is increasingly used by individuals as a means of treating depression. Given its combination of exercise and meditative practices, yoga may be well-suited to treat mood disorders. However, previous research is often criticized for methodological limitations that make it difficult to draw conclusions about the effectiveness of yoga interventions. In this talk Nina Vollbehr presented several studies that examine the potential effects and working mechanisms of yoga for depression. The presentation began with a meta-analysis of existing evidence on the effectiveness of hatha yoga for (chronic) mood disorders. Second, a lab study was presented that was designed to assess whether a 2-week yoga intervention reduces symptoms of depression in a sample of undergraduate students and whether these benefits may be partially mediated by rumination. After this, a feasibility study was presented in which a 9-week mindful yoga intervention was designed and tested for acceptability and potential effects and working mechanisms in a group of 12 patients with chronic mood disorders. Last, the results of a randomized controlled trial were presented in which 171 young women with major depressive disorder were assigned to a 9-week mindful yoga intervention added to treatment as usual versus treatment as usual only.

Nina Vollbehr, MSc is a psychologist at the Center for Integrative Psychiatry in Groningen. She works as a clinician as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Groningen. She holds a MSc degree in clinical psychology from the University of Utrecht as and is licensed as a registered mental health psychologist in the Netherlands. She is also a RYT 500 registered yoga teacher.
Her research focuses on yoga for (chronic) mood disorders and potential mechanisms such as rumination and self-compassion. She was awarded the Mind & Life Varela Award in 2015 for her research on yoga for young women with depression.