Effects of a Qi Gong Program on Dissociative Symptoms in Patients Who Have Experienced Childhood Trauma: a Randomized Controlled Trial (Qi-T) (Qi-T)

Effects of a Qi Gong Program on Dissociative Symptoms in Patients Who Have Experienced Childhood Trauma: a Randomized Controlled Trial

The goal of this clinical trial is to evaluate whether participation in 12 Qi Gong sessions (intervention group), compared with usual care without Qi Gong (control group), reduces dissociative symptoms, as measured by the Dissociative Experience Scale-II (DES-II), between T0 and T1, in outpatients hospitalized for psychiatric disorders related to aversive experiences during childhood.

The main questions it aims to answer are:

- a) To assess whether participation in the Qi Gong program leads to a reduction in symptoms related to complex trauma, b) To assess whether participation in the Qi Gong program leads to an increase in the level of mindfulness c) To explore whether the effect of the Qi Gong program on reducing dissociative symptoms varies according to participants' baseline level of dissociation (Dissociative Experiences Scale-II ) d) To explore whether the effect of the Qi Gong program on reducing dissociative symptoms is sustained over time e) To explore the experiences of patients who participated in the Qi Gong sessions following the intervention.

This is a randomized controlled trial with parallel groups:

• Intervention group: participation in 12 Qi Gong sessions led by a trained professional, in addition to standard care
• Control group: standard care, without access to Qi Gong sessions during the study period.

Participants will be required to:

• complete 3 questionnaires (DES-II, ITQ, MAAS)
• attend one Qi Gong session per week for 12 weeks (including a group debriefing) or receive standard care at a medical-psychological center (without Qi Gong)
• complete the same questionnaires (DES-II, ITQ, MAAS) after the 12 weeks
• complete the DES-II questionnaire 2 months later

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Psychiatry
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Qi-Gong

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 90
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Olivier Martinez, Mr; Phone Number: 0262 262570169; Email: olivier.martinez@chu-reunion.fr

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18 years of age or older
• A score above the 10th percentile on the Dissociative Experience Scale-II (DES-II)
• A score above 2 on the ACE scale (Adverse Childhood Experiences by Felitti et al., 1998)
• A medical certificate attesting to the participant's fitness to practice Qigong
• A person enrolled in or receiving benefits from a social security program
• Free, informed, and written consent signed by the participant and the investigator (no later than the day of enrollment and prior to any examination required by the study).

Exclusion Criteria:

• In a suicidal crisis
• In a hallucinatory crisis
• Experiencing a major depressive episode
• Unstabilized
• Pregnant women
• Those who do not understand French
• Under guardianship or conservatorship
• Under judicial protection

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Double

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Qi-gong; One Qi Gong session per week for 12 weeks, in groups of six, led by a certified professional.	Other: Qi-Gong; 1 Qi Gong session per week for 12 weeks
No Intervention: Routine Care (without Qi Gong); Routine care at a medical-psychological center (appointments with psychologists, doctors, and registered nurses scheduled as part of standard care), excluding participation in Qi Gong sessions

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Reduction in dissociative symptoms	Symptoms of dissociation, as measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II), will be compared between the intervention group (Qi Gong sessions) and the control group (usual care without Qi Gong).	3 months after enrollment
To assess whether participation in the Qi-Gong program leads to a reduction in symptoms related to complex trauma	Change in mean ITQ scores between T1 and T0 (T1-T0); this change will be calculated for each participant.	3 months after enrollment

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
To assess whether participation in the Qigong program leads to an increase in the level of mindfulness	Change in mean MAAS scores between T1 and T0 (T1-T0); this change will be calculated for each participant.	3 months after enrollement
To investigate whether the effect of the Qigong program on reducing dissociative symptoms varies depending on participants' initial level of dissociation	Change in the mean DES-II score between T1 and T0 (T1-T0), according to the baseline level of dissociation, as measured by the DES-II. This change will be calculated for each participant.	3 months after enrollment
To investigate whether the effect of the Qigong program on reducing dissociative symptoms persists over time	Change in the mean DES-II score between T2 and T1 (T2 - T1). This change will be calculated for each participant.	5 months after enrollement
To explore the experiences of patients who participated in Qi Gong sessions following the intervention.	The experiences of patients who participated in Qi Gong sessions were assessed through focus groups held after each Qi Gong session, in the form of a debriefing,	3 month after enrollment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de la Réunion

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): September 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): January 1, 2029
• Study Completion (Estimated): March 1, 2029

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: June 22, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 22, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): June 26, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): June 26, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: June 22, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: dissociative symptoms; childhood trauma; Qi- Qong
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Therapeutics; Mind-Body Therapies; Complementary Therapies; Exercise Movement Techniques; Physical Therapy Modalities; Breathing Exercises; Qigong
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2025/RUN/0030

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No