This study examined the relationship of aquatic activity to positive and negative emotion in individuals with a severe mental illness (SMI). Individuals with SMI have been found to experience decreased positive emotions and higher negative emotions as compared to controls. It was hypothesized that aquatic activity participation would be associated with greater positive emotion and lower negative emotion post participation. Eighteen participants with a severe mental illness were recruited from a community mental health center. The study employed a pre-post design with a structured aquatic activity designed for moderate physical exertion. Participants demonstrated statistically significant increase in positive emotion and decrease in negative emotion pre to post activity. The findings of this study provide support for the potential effect of aquatic activities in psychiatric rehabilitation.

This study examined the relationship between cardio-kickboxing and balance in individuals with developmental disabilities (DDs). Cardio-kickboxing is a combination of aerobics, boxing, and martial arts. In general, cardio-kickboxing has shown to improve balance in participants. To our knowledge, this is the first adult cardio-kickboxing program for participants with a DD. Twenty-one adults with development disabilities were randomly assigned to either an intervention group or a control group. Participants were tested at baseline, week four, and postintervention using the Four Square Step Test. Improvements were shown in balance (p < 0.0125) at postintervention testing. Results indicate that cardio-kickboxing may be a promising intervention to improve balance for individuals with DDs.

This systematic review examined available literature on mind and body complementary health practices for informal caregivers (ICG). The United States Department of Health and Human Services defines mind and body complementary health practices as acupuncture, massage therapy, chiropractic osteopathic manipulation, healing touch, hypnotherapy, guided imagery, breathing exercises, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, tai chi, qi gong, Rolfing Structural Integration, Feldenkrais method, Alexander technique, and Trager psychophysical integration. Literature related to these mind and body practices were searched using PubMed, Elton B. Stephens Co. (EBSCO), and Google Scholar databases. The screening process resulted in 220 sources that appeared for the search terms “ICG” and each of the mind and body practices. Four yoga manuscripts met the final inclusion criteria. While the level of evidence for ICG is weak generally, examples of improvements after yoga participation included reduced depression levels and state anxiety, and improvement in physical fitness. Implications for recreational therapy practice are discussed.