Mental Illness and Physical Activity: Therapists’ Beliefs and Practices

Abstract

The scientific evidence for the effectiveness of regular moderate-intensity physical activity in alleviating anxiety and depression symptoms is well documented [1 Á3]. Low-risk exercise programmes

Are Psychologists Willing and Able to Promote Physical Activity as Part of Psychological Treatment?

“…This combined figure is comparable with US research reporting that 85% of psychotherapists prescribed exercise [33] and higher than Australian research reporting that 40% of therapists recommended exercise [34]; this difference may be associated with the terms and definitions used across studies. While two thirds of the psychologists in our study reported giving general activity advice, less than one third did activity counseling, which may reflect levels of confidence associated with each service.…”

“…Six of the items to assess acceptability were used from previous Australian research with permission from the lead author [34]. Items (n=6) from the Active Australia survey [35] were used to assess knowledge of national activity guidelines [36].…”

“…In this study, 13% of the psychotherapists had received formal education in exercise/physical fitness, 58% thought it should be included in clinical psychology graduate training, and 56% reported engaging in regular exercise themselves [33]. Phongsavan, Merom, Bauman, and Wagner reported that 51% of therapists agreed that activity counseling was part of their job, and 57% thought that they had a good knowledge about the therapeutic potential, but 14% believed that their patients would not benefit from activity advice, and 12% believed that physical activity was more important for chronic health problems (diabetes, obesity, heart disease) than for managing mental illness [34]. Therapists' interest in acquiring specific skills to promote activity was identified as an issue for further investigation.…”

“…There has been relatively little systematic research on physical activity promotion by psychologists in the context of mental health services as part of the management of psychological conditions. A study of US psychotherapists indicated that 83% of respondents had prescribed exercise [33], while a study of Australian mental health therapists reported that 40% had recommended activity to patients [34]. The authors of both of these studies discussed that activity promotion could be influenced by the nature of clients' issues, therapists' beliefs about the efficacy of activity, therapists' knowledge and training, and the therapist's own health behavior.…”

Understanding the physical activity promotion behaviours of podiatrists: A qualitative study

“…The majority of these studies observed general medical practitioners [8][9][10][11] with only a limited number of studies giving specific attention to other health professionals such as dietitians [12], nurses [8,13] pharmacists [14], physiotherapists [15] and clinical psychologists [16,17]. These studies have given insights into the practice behaviors and receptiveness to physical activity promotion of each profession along with the feasibility and practicality of physical activity promotion within each professional setting.…”