Summer Archives

Forest Ogunyankin Munich, Germany - Ludwig Maximillians Universität

I joined an interdisciplinary research team at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy at Ludwig Maximillians Universität (LMU) in Munich, Germany to study the application of aerobic exercise therapy as adjunctive care for patients with schizophrenia, a debilitating mental disorder caused by structural and chemical changes in the brain. Throughout the summer, I assisted with the team’s upcoming study, learned how to structure exercise- and movement therapy interventions for people with schizophrenia and created a program manual containing three different exercise and movement therapy programs adapted from programs offered at this clinic. Upon return to Nashville, I hope to deliver this manual to The Park Center, a local psychiatric day clinic and resource center, and launch a pilot exercise program for their members with schizophrenia.