Date

6-17-2026

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Counselor Education and Supervision (PhD)

Chair

Kristi Ford

Keywords

Pilates, mind-body exercise, polyvagal theory, mental wellness, physical wellness, quality of life

Disciplines

Counseling

Abstract

This research study includes the overview, literature review, methodology, findings, and discussion of a six-week study pending defense. The purpose of the study is to further support Pilates as an evidence-based treatment to enhance physical and mental wellness and improve quality of life. This includes specific variables of interest such as anxiety, depression, dissociative and posttraumatic stress symptoms, stress, and improvements in overall quality of life and physical health. The theoretical framework for the study is somatic psychology and polyvagal theory. The importance of this study is to validate the use of Pilates as an effective form of treatment for symptoms that need more support from research, such as dissociative symptoms and posttraumatic stress. This quasi- experimental design included 24 participants, 11 and 13 participants in each group, selected by convenience sampling and snowball sampling, who are, 18 or older, and who exercise regularly. Participants were assigned to the treatment and control groups depending on ease of access to perform the intervention. The experimental group participated in a six-week reformer-based Pilates treatment intervention, once to twice weekly for 50-minute intervals. These sessions were held in a local gym in Athens, Texas. The control group participated in an alternative form of exercise twice weekly for 50-minute intervals. Both groups received pre- and post-treatment assessments to track intervention progress at weeks zero and six. The research hypothesis was that the experimental group would have better results and report more improvement than the control group on the post assessments, and that improvements in mental health variables positively affected the person’s subjective report of physical wellness and overall quality of life. All assessment surveys were administered via Qualtrics, and participants were asked to respond within 48 hours. Multivariate analysis analyzed the data and found statistically significant support for one hypothesis, that depressive symptoms decrease more in the experimental group than the control group.

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