Melanie Rudolph, USA: When I reflect upon meaningful life experiences and in this case, past Laughter Yoga presentations, one of my most rewarding and valuable experience was bringing Laughter Yoga to Appalachian Regional Healthcare Psychiatric Center in 2012. My mother Marilyn took her own life 32 years ago at the age of 42, when I was just 8 years old. She struggled with mental illness for more than 10 years.

This is a testimonial from Frances H, Director of Psych Rehab Therapy and Recovery Services Coordinators at the Appalachian Regional Healthcare Psychiatric Center:

“Laughter Yoga has been such an excellent addition to our recovery mall. It teaches people who struggle with relaxing and laughing to just relax and laugh. I see people smiling in our Laughter Yoga classes and that is very nice to see, especially those struggling with mental illness and have felt they had nothing to smile about. I have sat in the class several times and the benefits I see are pretty amazing. It is well worth the cost of training staff to become Laughter Yoga trainer.”

Description of the Recovery Mall Model

The treatment mall concept was developed at Middletown Psychiatric Center, a New York state facility that achieved international recognition for this innovative advancement in psychiatric treatment. This new model brings together, in one location, contemporary treatment and rehabilitation, specialized programs to build daily life skills, indoor and outdoor activities, hobbies and patient services.