Finding Wellness in the Pandemic
Condition: Mental Health Wellness 1; Addiction; Stress, Psychological; Covid19
MeSH terms: COVID-19; Stress, Psychological
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      There is an immediate need for population-level intervention research to address the impacts
      of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and its containment measures on mental
      health and substance use (MHSU). While online programs are available to address these issues,
      they are often delivered in an asynchronous format with relatively low therapist or health
      coaching guidance. As highlighted by a recent systematic review, positive outcomes for online
      mental health programs are tied to the intensity of therapist or coaching guidance, which
      increases cost and reduces population access to more effective online options. A way to
      offset cost while maintaining effectiveness is to offer MHSU programs to groups online,
      rather than individually. In 2019, the investigators launched an RCT to test
      gender-stratified group interventions to address MHSU among community-based Indigenous and
      non-Indigenous adults in southern Alberta. The investigators implemented the interventions
      with more than 200 adults before the study was paused due to COVID-19.
    

Detailed description: 
      The primary objective of this project is to adapt two existing mental health and substance
      use interventions and RCT for online delivery, COVID-19 impacts, and province-wide spread.
      The second objective is to test if an online group body-oriented intervention
      (trauma-sensitive yoga) that has been designed to increase awareness of physical sensations,
      is superior to an online group verbal narrative intervention (mental wellness talking
      circle), and to control group. The investigators theorize that the body-oriented intervention
      may offer the opportunity to reprogram automatic physiologic hyperarousal in response to
      COVID-19 triggers and increase positive body awareness, and mindful attention to the ways in
      which habitual self-protective behaviours like substance use may be impacting health. The
      third objective is to examine the impacts of the interventions on adults with pre-existing
      MHSU issues, and those with previous experiences that may make them more susceptible to MHSU
      problems during COVID-19. The investigators will track other supports the participants engage
      during the study and the perceived impacts of these supports on the outcomes with the goal of
      shedding light on how to best match COVID-19 related services to adults who need them the
      most.
    

Intervention name(s): Trauma Informed Yoga; Trauma Informed Psychotherapy
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): One licensed yoga instructor, trained in trauma-informed yoga delivery, will lead the online sessions. Participants will be instructed to engage in the class from a mat or chair in their home or move between them as the class unfolds. The instructor will begin the class by introducing the week's theme (e.g. grounding and safety, non-attachment, imprints of the past and impacts on our reactions to COVID-19, connection to nature), followed by a breath practice (10 min), a yoga practice (50 min), a meditation practice (10 min), and closing words (10 min).; Two licensed counsellors (MSW-trained) will co-facilitate the online version of this program. Facilitators will begin the session by introducing the week's theme (e.g. setting goals while working from home, being mindful, health coping) (10 min), followed by a lecture and activity to integrate learning (e.g. large and small group discussion using Zoom break out rooms, journaling) (70 min), and closing words (10 min).
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment