Effects of Viktor Philippi’s Bioenergetic Meditation on Anxiety, Burnout, and Depression: An Analysis of Four Feasibility Studies
Wiebke Lehnert, Julia Günther-Pusch, Rainer Johannes Klement
Complementary Medicine Research 2023 DOI: 10.1159/000528687 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Prospective, non-randomized feasibility studies Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 390 |
| Population | People suffering from anxiety, depression, or burnout |
| Intervention | Bioenergetic meditation |
| Duration | 10 sessions within 10 weeks; 7 sessions within 3 days with follow-up at 6, 12, and 18 months |
| Measures | Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), Hamburg Burnout Inventory (HBI) |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Key points | After 10 weekly BM sessions, depression symptoms decreased reliably in 58–73% of cases, with median BDI-II scores dropping 60%; anxiety improved from severe to moderate on average, and burnout improved across all subscales. After 7 sessions, improvements were maintained at 18-month follow-up in over half of participants. |
Abstract
Introduction: Anxiety, burnout, and depression cause a substantial psychological and social burden. Bioenergetic meditation (BM) was developed by Viktor Philippi as a method to strengthen psychological and physical health. This work presents the results of four feasibility studies investigating the effects of BM developed by Viktor Philippi as a support for people suffering from these psychological disorders.
Materials and Methods: A total of four prospective, non-randomized feasibility studies were conducted (N1 = 185, N2 = 140, N3 = 33, N4 = 32). Studies 1 and 2 were multicentric studies with a pre-post comparison consisting of 10 BMs within 10 weeks with individual study start and end points. Studies 3 and 4 consisted of 7 BMs within 3 days with a pre-post evaluation and follow-up measurements at 6, 12, and 18 months. The Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), and Hamburg Burnout Inventory (HBI) were used to measure symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout, respectively.
Results: After 10 BMs within 10 weeks, highly reliable decreases in symptoms of depression occurred in 58–73% of cases (p < 0.005). The median BDI-II score declined significantly by 60% (p < 0.0001) after 10 weeks of BM. Symptoms of anxiety were highly reliably reduced in roughly one-third of cases after 10 weekly BMs, with the average total BAI score declining from a severe to a moderate anxiety (p < 0.0001). The HBI showed significant improvement in all subscales. Psychological symptoms also improved significantly after 7 BMs, and symptom reductions classified as highly reliable were maintained until 18-months follow-up in more than 50% of participants.
Conclusion: BM results in significant and lasting improvements in clinical symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout. Further studies including control groups are necessary to confirm these findings and determine any BM-specific effects.