One of Laureate’s five core organizational values is dignity - respecting each person as an inherently valuable member of the human community and as a unique expression of life. To help understand the science behind mental illnesses, Laureate Phychiatric Clinic and Hospital is proud to partner with Laureate Institute for Brain Research (LIBR) for cutting-edge research and clinical trials.
View Ongoing Studies Available through LIBR
Floatation Therapy and the Biological Aspects of Eating Illnesses
Scott Moseman, M.D., CEDS, medical director of the Laureate Eating Disorders Program, collaborates with Justin Feinstein, Ph.D., float clinic director and Sahib Khalsa, M.D., Ph.D. and their lab teams. LIBR is home to the world’s first research laboratory investigating the effects of floatation therapy on both the body and brain, as well as exploring its potential as a therapeutic treatment for promoting mental health and healing in anorexia nervosa patients.
Preliminary Results
The Float Clinic and Research Center is now in its third year of operation. Based on initial studies, the float environment appears to rapidly reduce levels of stress throughout the nervous system, allowing one’s brain and body to enter a deep state of relaxation. To document these changes, LIBR has developed wireless and waterproof sensors to measure neural and physiological signals during the float experience. Building from this base of technology, the lab has recently shown that floatation therapy seems to help individuals with PTSD, panic disorder and generalized anxiety disorder to significantly reduce their stress and anxiety levels while improving both mood, heart rate variability and blood pressure.
In 2017, the first float study of floatation therapy in eating disorders was completed, led by Sahib Khalsa, M.D., Ph.D., director of clinical studies at LIBR, in close collaboration with Drs. Scott Moseman and Justin Feinstein. This clinical trial of outpatients with anorexia nervosa found that floating was safe, well tolerated and associated with improvements in anxiety and body image disturbance. Based on these results, LIBR and the Laureate Eating Disorders Program are again collaborating on a larger clinical trial of floatation therapy for volunteer inpatients with anorexia nervosa. The study, which is open to adolescents and adults, examines the clinical efficacy of floatation therapy on anxiety, stress and body image disturbance.
Additional Eating Disorders-Related Research
Laureate Eating Disorders Program medical director Dr. Scott Moseman has co-authored multiple ED-related research publications including the studies listed below.
A Clinical Trial Investigating the Safety and Tolerability of Floatation-Rest in Anorexia Nervosa
Influence of Visceral Interoceptive Experience on the Brain's Response to Food Images in Anorexia Nervosa
Altered Insula Activity During Visceral Interoception in Weight-Restored Patients with Anorexia Nervosa