Stelzer Eva-Maria
University Hospital Erlangen, Germany
Title: Bouldering therapy as a new treatment for depression: First results of a randomized waitlist-controlled intervention study
Biography
Biography: Stelzer Eva-Maria
Abstract
Background: Depression is one of the most common psychiatric disorders. Alternative therapies, such as exercise, are on a rise to complement traditional care. A new mode of exercise which may be promising in alleviation of depressive symptoms is bouldering, a style of climbing without a rope in moderate heights. This present study aimed to find empirical support for the relationship between bouldering and depression. Method: The short-term bouldering psychotherapy took place in a group format once a week for three hours over the course of eight weeks. Using a control-waitlist-design, participants were assigned to the two groups and assessed at baseline and subsequently after 8, 16 and 24 weeks. Self-report measures included the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), the Symptom Checklist-90-R (SCL- 90-R) and the questionnaire on resources and self-management skills (FERUS). Additionally, the attention test d2-R was performed. In the trials presented here, a total of 47 participants completed the study. Results: Improvements after bouldering included lower depressive scores (BDI-II: d=0.77; SCL-90-R: d=0.62), reduced obsessive-compulsive behavior (d=0.73), enhanced self-efficacy (d=0.63) as well as improved coping skills (d=0.82) Depression scores dropped by up to 6.27 points on the BDI-II during the intervention. Group allocation evolved as only significant predictor of change in depression scores in a regression-analysis (p=0.007). NNT was four. Conclusion: This study provides evidence that short-term bouldering psychotherapy can be effective in reducing symptoms of depression. Larger studies, however, are required.