Yoga and Mind-Body Movement Practices in Psychiatric Rehabilitation: Functional Recovery, Participation, and Community Scaling

Psychiatric rehabilitation has moved decisively from symptom reduction alone towards recovery defined by function, participation, and quality of life. This Research Topic takes that shift as its starting point and its boundary, as it aims at delineating how yoga and related mind–body movement contribute to functional recovery, that is, to the capacity of people living with mental illness to work, learn, sustain relationships, participate in their communities, and direct their own lives. Yoga, tai chi, qigong, and related movement- and breath-based practices are increasingly studied within rehabilitation as adjuncts that may support socio-occupational functioning, cognition, sleep, self-determination, and the reduction of internalised stigma. Yet the field has generalised its clinical outcomes far faster than it has learned to measure recovery, or to deliver these practices at scale where people actually live.Three problems now limit translation, and this Research Topic treats them as a single agenda.First, outcome selection remains anchored to symptoms. Studies frequently privilege symptom scales that were never designed to capture recovery, while personally meaningful outcomes — role functioning, family burden, employment, education, social participation, and self-determination — are measured inconsistently or not at all. We seek work that puts recovery outcomes at the centre rather than reporting them as secondary endpoints.Second, measurement of the practices and their recovery targets is underdeveloped. Dose, adherence, and fidelity are rarely quantified with validated instruments, and the recovery constructs these practices are intended to alter, including interpersonal conduct, emotion regulation, and self-determination, are only beginning to be operationalised and cross-culturally validated. Progress on functional recovery depends on measurement science that can link what was practised to what changed in a person’s life. In many settings this will require instruments developed within the cultural frameworks that people themselves draw on when they seek help.Third, scaling into everyday settings is poorly understood. Most evidence originates in tertiary care or research settings, whereas the people who need rehabilitation are largely served in community, primary care, and non-specialist settings, increasingly through digital and tele-delivered models whose implementation determinants remain unmapped.We are particularly interested in work that is methodologically rigorous, culturally grounded, and explicit about the pathway from practice to function, and in work conducted in low- and middle-income settings where these practices are already embedded in help-seeking. Contributions should be situated in a rehabilitation or recovery context and should report at least one recovery-oriented outcome — functional, participation, role, or quality-of-life — rather than symptom change alone. For measure development and validation studies, where no intervention outcome is at issue, we ask instead that the construct measured be explicitly linked to functioning, participation, or role outcomes.We welcome submissions on the following themes:- Trials and quasi-experimental studies of yoga and mind–body movement interventions in psychiatric rehabilitation that report functional recovery, participation, and quality of life as primary outcomes- Studies linking mechanism to function — where autonomic, neuroendocrine, neurocognitive, or behavioural and interpersonal pathways are examined specifically as they explain gains in everyday functioning, not clinical efficacy alone- Development, validation, and cross-cultural adaptation of recovery-oriented measures, including patient-reported outcome measures for recovery and measures of practice dose, adherence, and fidelity, measures of the proximal behavioural and self-regulatory targets of these practices, and instruments grounded in the traditions from which these practices derive- Implementation and hybrid effectiveness–implementation studies in community, primary care, school, workplace, and residential rehabilitation settings, including task-sharing with non-specialist providers- Tele-delivered and digitally supported programes, including evaluations of reach, retention, equity of access, safety, and cost-effectiveness- Integration of mind–body movement practices with established psychosocial rehabilitation, including family interventions, vocational rehabilitation, and supported employment- Adverse events, contraindications, and safety monitoring specific to movement- and breath-based practice in rehabilitation populations- Qualitative and mixed-methods studies of lived experience, acceptability, and the meaning of these practices for service users, families, and providers- Systematic reviews, scoping reviews, and meta-analyses focused on functional recovery outcomes of mind–body movement practices in rehabilitation, including appraisals of reporting quality and risk of bias Topic editors: Hemant Bhargav, Jasmine Childs-Fegredo, Dr Kashinath G Metri, NJ Patil Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/86173/yoga-and-mind-body-movement-practices-in-psychiatric-rehabilitation-functional-recovery-participation-and-community-scaling