Mental health clients’ receptiveness to and recommendations for integrating physical activity discussions into therapy: a mixed methods study

Abstract

Objective

The mental health benefits of physical activity are well-established. Integrating physical activity counseling into therapy would expand the reach of this evidence-based treatment for mental illness. This mixed methods study examined mental health clients’ receptiveness and recommendations for effectively discussing physical activity in therapy.

Methods

A diverse sample of U.S. adults in therapy (N = 478) completed a survey that included the open-ended question: What specific recommendations would you have for your therapist to effectively discuss physical activity with you? We conducted a qualitative content analysis to identify their most common recommendations.

Results

Most participants indicated they would be comfortable discussing physical activity with their therapist. The content analysis resulted in 26 unique categories; most common recommendations included: provide information about what to do (n = 81), discuss physical activity benefits (n = 63), be understanding and nonjudgmental (n = 49), provide accountability (n = 41), and consider physical/mental health conditions (n = 35). Overarching themes emphasized making mental health central to discussions, tailoring discussions to each client, and reframing physical activity as a feasible, enjoyable activity.

Conclusions

Mental health clients are open to discussing physical activity during therapy if it is approached in a supportive, understanding, and personalized way. Clients’ recommendations can inform future professional development for therapists.

Keywords:

• clinical recommendations
• mental health
• physical activity
• qualitative
• therapy

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank Emma Fairchild for her role in data coding and analysis.

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Author Contributions

EM: Conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing

GB: Conceptualization, formal analysis, methodology, validation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing

JM: Formal analysis, visualization, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing

JD: Conceptualization, funding acquisition, methodology, validation, writing – original draft, writing – review & editing

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Kansas State University.