Applying yoga therapy to a specific mental health diagnosis - post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - given to a client by a psychiatrist.
Hemant, B., Arasappa, R., G., I., Udupa, K., & Varambally, S. (2020). Yoga for Mental Health Disorders: Research and Practice. In S. Telles, & R. Gupta (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Evidence-Based Perspectives

I will meet the client for two 15-minute sessions (November 5 and 12) in which I will apply recommended yoga therapy interventions for PTSD: gentle reclining twists followed by three-part breath with extended exhalation and ending with mantra meditation. Before and after each session, I will have the client rate her stress level on a scale of 1-10.

Client is female, age 47. She has been diagnosed by her psychiatrist with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). She takes Lithium, Seroquel, and Paxil as prescribed by her psychiatrist. The client is undergoing difficult divorce proceedings while separated from her "abusive, narcissistic husband." She works part-time while attending massage school and raising her three sons.

I met the client for two 15-minute sessions in which I applied the recommended yoga therapy interventions for PTSD, in particular to address anxiety: gentle reclining twists followed by three-part breath with extended exhalation and ending with mantra meditation. Before and after each session, I had the client rate her anxiety level on a scale of 1-10.

I used hatha yoga with the gentle reclining twists to give the client some physical movement to help relieve stress and to help with back soreness which she mentioned as a symptom of tension held in her body.
I used pranayama (hatha) by incorporating long, slow breaths with extended exhalations to help the client manage anxiety.
I used mantra japa ("OM shanti") as a way to assist the client with disengaging her tendency to "over-think" and worry excessively.

The client arrived at my home on Nov. 12 and reported her anxiety level at 9 on a scale of 1-10. She explained this had to do with a conversation with her husband. The client stated she felt very open to whatever I had in mind for our session. After five minutes of reclining twists, five minutes of pranayama, and five minutes of japa, the client smiled and reported her anxiety level at 2 on a scale of 1-10.

The client arrived at my home on Nov. 19 and reported her anxiety at 7 on a scale of 1-10. She explained this had to due with one of her sons doing poorly in school, and another son suffering from an ear infection. She also stated she was looking forward to our work together. After our time with the gentle twists, pranayama, and japa, she reported her anxiety at 2 on a scale of 1-10.

The client stated she plans to use the pranayama first thing in the morning upon awakening, and use it anytime during the day when she feels herself becoming anxious. The client asked me for more information about the practice of mantra japa. I explained about the usefulness of a regular daily practice for "mastering the mind" and I demonstrated the use of a mala. The client liked this idea, and stated she plans to purchase a mala and use it with the "OM shanti" mantra in the evenings after her children go to sleep.

Yes, I applied the intended plan with the client on both sessions. The client particularly liked the pranayama and the mantra japa practices. She had not been familiar with these practices, but was very open-minded about trying anything that might help her feel more in control of anxiety on a daily basis. She stated she liked knowing there were simple practices like these that she could "fall back on" at any time, day or night. The goal was achieved since the client experienced a subjective reduction in her sense of anxiety.

I did not have to adapt anything in this plan. I used the following resource to help me decide how to work with the client:
Hemant, B., Arasappa, R., G., I., Udupa, K., & Varambally, S. (2021). Yoga for Mental Health Disorders: Research and Practice. In S. Telles, & R. Gupta (Ed.), Handbook of Research on Evidence-Based Perspectives on the Psychophysiology of Yoga and Its Applications (pp. 179-198). IGI Global.
http://doi:10.4018/978-1-7998-3254-6.ch011

If I faced a similar situation in the future, I believe I would handle it the same way, assuming this would be agreeable to the client. I like the fact that these interventions are simple to teach and practice, and they do not require a lot of time for the client to potentially see a benefit. This client was very open to trying anything, and also willing to use the practices at home on her own. I imagine I would have trouble with a client who is not as open-minded and who is resistant to using the practices on their own. I say this because the practices cannot help if the client is not willing to use them. Also, I do not like or want clients to be dependent on me.