When treating people in detention, yoga may not immediately come to mind. However, the implementation of yoga relates to the underlying problems of the population and state-of-the-art theoretical treatment models. This overview discusses the potential added value of trauma-sensitive yoga as an intervention in closed forensic settings, mainly in detention.
Interventions currently implemented in forensic institutions pay less attention to more internalizing problems such as affective problems, anxiety, psychosomatic problems or trauma related problems, and the lack of self-confidence. However, these problems may be related to externalizing and delinquent behavior. Several studies have shown that the forensic population experiences more mental health problems than the general population, including trauma related problems. Trauma-sensitive yoga is a promising body-oriented intervention for psychological problems outside the forensic field.
The current overview discusses the principles of trauma-sensitive yoga and what mechanisms underlie the possible effect of this body-oriented intervention. To start, we explain how trauma-sensitive yoga can help in dealing with trauma related problems. This overview considers the effects of trauma-sensitive yoga on mental health in the general population and, more specific, the effects in the forensic population. Based on several pilot studies in the Netherlands and in line with international research, it can be cautiously concluded that trauma-sensitive yoga could be of added value to forensic treatment. It can reduce depressive symptoms and experienced stress and promote impulse control and a positive sense of self. Next to several recommendations from these studies on the implementation, recommendations for future research are discussed in order to be able to support the practice of trauma-sensitive yoga in detention.