A Brief Yoga- and Mindfulness-Based Psychoeducation Program for Women Who Have Experienced Domestic Violence: An RCT Study

This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of a brief online yoga- and mindfulness-based psychoeducation program and its possible working mechanisms (rumination and self-compassion) in improving psychological health parameters (depression, anxiety, and stress) among women who have experienced domestic violence (DV).

In a randomized controlled trial, 51 women who had survived DV were assigned to either an intervention group (n = 27) or a waitlist control group (n = 24). The intervention was a five-week yoga- and mindfulness-based psychoeducation program conducted online. Before and after the intervention, the presence of symptoms related to depression, anxiety, and stress, as well as the level of rumination and self-compassion were assessed.

At the post-test, participants in the intervention group reported higher mean scores in self-compassion and lower mean scores in rumination, depression, anxiety, and stress compared to those in the waitlist control group. Mediation analyses revealed that rumination and self-compassion mediated the intervention’s effects on psychological health parameters.

Our findings support the effectiveness of a brief online yoga- and mindfulness-based psychoeducation program for improving the psychological health of women who have experienced DV. Self-compassion and rumination emerged as working mechanisms underlying the intervention’s success. Future research should explore brief yet effective online psychoeducation programs, considering self-compassion and rumination as potential working mechanisms when designing interventions for women who have experienced domestic violence.

This study has been retrospectively registered in ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT06061029).