Mind-Body Skills Groups for Behavioral and Emotional Problems in War-Traumatized Male Adolescents in Gaza

The purpose of this study is to determine whether war-traumatize male adolescents with behavioral and emotional problems who participate in mind-body skills groups will have improvement in behavioral and emotional problems, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, compared to a wait list control group.

Mind-body skills incorporate meditation, guided imagery, breathing techniques, autogenic training, biofeedback, genograms, and self-expression through words, drawings, and movement in a small group setting. These groups have been used in war-traumatize populations in Kosovo, Gaza and the United States. This study will be investigating the effect of the mind-body skills groups on boys with behavioral and emotional problem at a high school in Gaza to determine if there is improvement in behavioral and emotional problems, aggression, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The results will be compared to a control high school with boys who will not be attending mind-body skills groups and who have experienced similar levels of trauma and also have behavioral and emotional problems. The mind-body skills groups will be held for 2 hours once a week for 10 weeks and then once a month for 10 months. Measures will be taken at baseline, after the 10 week mind-body skills group program and again at 10 month follow-up.