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Completed

NCT Number: NCT01873482

Traditional African Healing Ceremony in a U.S. Population

Pre-agricultural societies almost universally used healing ceremonies that involved reverence, rhythm and dance in the presence of a healer. It is believed that we are "wired" for such experiences and they foster an integrative mode of consciousness similar to that of mindfulness based stress reduction, which has been shown to have therapeutic effects in a variety of conditions. Collaborator Ava Lavonne Vinesett of the Duke Dance Program has developed a healing ceremony based in sub-Saharan African traditions. The investigators plan is to have 25 subjects with a variety of clinical conditions participate in this ceremony. Subjects will then be asked to write a commentary about their experience and to participate in a focus group discussion. It is anticipated that the study will give us some idea of how promising this approach would be and what kinds of patients might benefit. Safety issues are minimal and include the possibility of injury (though the dancing is not strenuous) and psychological distress.

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Key information

Conditions

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Anxiety Anxiety Disorders Behavior Behavioral Symptoms Cancer Chronic Disease Depression Disease Attributes Encephalomyelitis Fatigue Syndrome, Chronic Mental Disorders Muscular Diseases Musculoskeletal Diseases Neoplasms Nervous System Diseases Neuroinflammatory Diseases Neuromuscular Diseases Pathologic Processes Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms

Age range

25 year–65 year

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Interventional

Phase

Not applicable

Primary location

Duke University

Durham, North Carolina, 27710, United States

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: No

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 25 to 65 with one of the diagnoses listed above or with 8 visits to their provider in the last year and with no diagnosis of chronic illness.

Exclusion criteria

  • physical disability making participation difficult and previous experience with a similar ceremony, for instance while growing up in Africa.

Treatment and study plan

Movement to rhythm

Behavioral

Movement to rhythm

Primary outcomes

  1. Report from each participant as to whether they found the experience positive, neutral or negative.

    Time frame: During the first hour after the intervention

Secondary outcomes

  1. written narrative of experience

    Time frame: During the first hour after the intervention

Other outcomes

  1. Encounter group discussion

    Time frame: During the first hour after the intervention

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Duke University

Other

Registry information

Important dates

Study start
2014
Primary completion
2014
First posted
Jun 10, 2013
Registry last updated
Nov 3, 2014

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

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This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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