Researchers at the University of Louisville and Western Connecticut State University supported this hypothesis in a pilot study focused on Dancing Well, a local non-profit organization which hosts the Soldier Project. The Soldier Project brings veterans with PTSD together for group dancing and community.

The study found that spending one hour a week for 10 weeks at the Soldier Project improved the veterans’ overall wellness scores.

“It has to do with feelings of optimism, feelings of hope, not letting yourself get isolated,” said Cynthia Corbitt, associate professor of biology. “One of the biggest problems with PTSD is isolating at home where there are fewer triggers, you’re less likely to encounter something that will bring back harmful memories.”

One of the veterans who can attest to this is Dar Bessler, who served in the Women’s Army Corps in the early 70s and has PTSD from sexual trauma.

“When I came here the first time, I was like a little kid,” said Bessler. “We got on that floor and just square danced like I did in grade school, and it just brought back so many of those good memories, and it just has helped me come out of myself and grow more than I have in the past.”

Deborah Denenfeld, who runs the Soldier Project, hopes the program will expand.

“I would like to be able to have similar programs happen across the nation with the potential of helping hundreds of thousands of people who have PTSD,” said Denenfeld.

Check out more about the program:��

“We can say, ‘this is the symptom that is causing all your other symptoms, and this is what we need to be working on in therapy,’” said lab director and assistant professor, Dr. Cheri Levinson. “This opens this whole possibility for treatments that are personalized based on the individual.”

The team used network analysis, collecting data via a mobile application, to map these connections. For example, Levinson said, one person may develop anorexia nervosa due to fear of weight gain. While for others, the reason could be completely different.

In one study, published in the , the researchers found there may be a connection to social anxiety. A second study, published in the , found a connection between eating disorders and trauma, or PTSD. ��

Co-author and doctoral candidate, Irina Vanzhula, said many psychologists already try to personalize treatment plans for each individual patient. ��

“But the issue with that is that they personalize treatment based on their opinion, and their clinical impression,” she said.��

The UofL team wants that personalization to be more objective — based on data, not opinion. Levinson, a practicing licensed psychologist, said that they can help doctors make better decisions and get to the cause of the problem more directly, rather than guessing. ��

“By using this data-driven approach, we’re going to be able to say, ‘hey, this is where you should start, and this is how you should do it,’” she said.��

The UofL EAT Lab is currently looking for participants for its You can listen to the researchers’ full radio interview on .��

Foley Hart, a Kent School of Social Work graduate student, thinks so and will soon launch a study to examine how the outdoors — including contact with horses — might help people with depression and posttraumatic stress disorder.

Hart, who graduates May 12 with a master’s degree in social work, said her interest in the topic evolved over several years and was influenced by her military experience, a newfound interest in horses and coursework at the Kent School.

“I just put all of the pieces together,” Hart said. “I’m drawn to help individuals who have major depressive order and PTSD. My thinking was to find ways to make treatment more affordable and to embrace natural therapies.”

Hart has landed a job with Healing Trails, an Ohio-based nonprofit that specializes in equine assisted psychotherapy (EAP). In this new role, she will earn EAP certification, work with girls aged 13-17 who have faced trauma, and conduct research on how lifestyle can influence mental health.

“I will be looking specifically at how various aspects of a person’s life (such as their diet, exercise, amount of time spent outdoors, etc.) can impact the success or failure of their therapy plan,” Hart said. “The Kent School set me up with a foundation that gave me the confidence to pursue this particular path in therapy and I feel very lucky to be a part of it all.”

While other studies have examined the correlation between the outdoors and depression, Hart says few of those studies adhere to research evidence examining protocols.

A Texas native, Hart graduated in 2012 from University of Texas at Arlington with a degree in psychology and, building on her college ROTC experience, joined the Army and went to Fort Knox for military training.

“I started looking into horses after moving to Kentucky,” she said. “I was inspired by a friend who was into horse racing and he showed me ‘the horse life.’”

Hart started working on her UofL degree in 2014 and completed her coursework online while serving in Kuwait. She has never set foot on a UofL campus.

She remains on active duty until September and is currently stationed at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. After she moves to Ohio to begin her career in social work, she will also take command of the 304^th Engineer Company, based in Lima.

In what seems like destiny, the move to Ohio also means that Hart’s husband, John, will realize his own dream of taking over the family farm, which is located nearby. The Harts, who have four children in their blended family, plan to live on the farm.

Hart said she appreciates how much UofL has done to help her realize her dreams.

“Kent School has been so wonderful and flexible in allowing me to juggle work, family and school,” she said. “Without this support, I don’t know if I ever could have completed my degree.”