1. A Bio-Psycho-Social Assessment
of an Adjunctive Intervention for
Youth in Alternative Schools
Rebekah Conway Roulier, Ed.M.
Doc Wayne

2. Doc Wayne
• Doc Wayne is a 501(c)(3) non-profit that connects with youth
through sports, utilizing our sports-based therapeutic
curriculum, do the good® (DtG).
o DW Therapeutic Sports Program (League)
o Billable Group Therapy (Chalk Talk)
o Leadership Program (Global Life Empowerment)
o Training Program

3. Sport & Therapy
Sport-based intervention which incorporates principles from:
o Trauma-informed care
o Positive youth development
o Trauma-based components model (Attachment, Regulation
and Competency Framework)
o Stabilization model (Dialectical Behavior Therapy)
o Attachment-based interaction model (Parent-Child
Interaction Therapy)

4. Evaluation
• Method: self-report, computerized games which assessed
behavior, and physiological measurement
• Participants: 53 (male and female)
• Ages: 12-19 (serve ages 12-22)
• Population: League and Chalk Talk participants compared to
control group.
o Victims of abuse and/or neglect
o Sexually exploited and trafficked
o Impoverished/underserved
o Truant
o Mentally ill (specifically survivors of complex trauma)
o Differently-abled

5. Alarming Descriptors
• Social Cognition - “Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task.”
o Healthy youth 70%.
o Adults on the autistic spectrum 50%.
o Doc Wayne youth 37% of faces (SD = 15%, Range = 0 to 75%).
• Physiology and Stress
o Average resting heart rate for youth in this age group is 60-80 beats per
minute (bpm).
o The majority of youth (65%) had elevated resting heart rates, above 80
bpm (M = 85, SD = 15).
o Five participants had extremely elevated resting HR, over 100 bpm.
o May be reflective of psychological stress, poor cardiovascular
health, or medication status.

6. Does Doc Wayne Help?
Outcome(s) Measurements Group Differences
Social Conflicts Personal Distress and Small
Perspective Taking
Emotion Regulation Reappraisal; Suppression; Significant
Shutting Down
Social Cognition “Reading the Mind in the Moderate
Eyes Task”
Physiology & Stress Ability to respond to Significant
stress and challenges.
Resting Heart Rate, Heart
Rate Variability

7. Multiple Season Participants
Outcome(s) Measurements Group Differences
Life Goals Expected likelihood of Small
achieving goals
Social Conflicts Personal Distress and Moderate – Personal Distress
Perspective Taking None-Perspective Taking
Emotion Reappraisal; Small- Seeking support and
Regulation Suppression; Shutting shutting down
Down
Social Cognition “Reading the Mind in the Moderate
Eyes “ Task
Physiology & Ability to respond to Moderate – Stress
Stress stress and challenges. None- Heart Rate
Resting Heart Rate; Heart Moderate- Heart Rate
Rate Variability Variability

8. Outcome Categories
• Category A: Outcomes which change quickly, and continue to
develop over time.
• Shutting Down
• Personal Distress
• Social Cognition
• Heart Rate Variability
• Category B: Outcomes which happen quickly, and “top out”
with continued participation.
• Reappraisal
• Perspective-taking
• Heart Rate
• Category C: Outcomes which take time to emerge.
• Seeking Support
• Career Goals

9. Conclusion
• Effect sizes are consistent with the effect sizes of individual
psychotherapies tested using Randomized Clinical Trials.
o Effect size – the size of the difference between two groups.
Is the magnitude of the differences between two groups
clinically meaningful?
o Most psychotherapy studies yield an effect size of .3.
• Sport can be therapeutic and a form of therapy.

10. Video
Impact: http://youtu.be/ekkVJhBut9A

11. Questions?
For 2009 and 2012 program evaluations please leave
your card!
Rebekah Conway Roulier, Ed.M.
General Manager, Doc Wayne
rroulier@docwayne.org
617-233-0710
@DocWayneDtG
@RLCRoulier