Physical activity and sedentary behaviour counselling: Attitudes and practices of mental health professionals
Article
Article Title | Physical activity and sedentary behaviour counselling: Attitudes and practices of mental health professionals |
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ERA Journal ID | 39745 |
Article Category | Article |
Authors | Shrestha, Nipun (Author), Pedisic, Zeljko (Author), Jurakic, Danijel (Author), Biddle, Stuart J. H. (Author) and Parker, Alexandra (Author) |
Journal Title | PLoS One |
Journal Citation | 16 (7), pp. 1-16 |
Article Number | e0254684 |
Number of Pages | 16 |
Year | 2021 |
Publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
Place of Publication | United States |
ISSN | 1932-6203 |
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0254684 |
Web Address (URL) | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article/peerReview?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0254684 |
Abstract | Background: Despite recent interest in the mental health benefits of increasing physical activity (PA) and reducing sedentary behaviour (SB), little is known about PA and SB counselling provided by mental health professionals. Therefore, the aim of this study was to explore the attitudes and practices of mental health professionals in recommending more PA and less SB to their clients. Methods: Quantitative data were collected using a modified version of the Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire in a sample of 17 Australian mental health professionals. The collected data were reported using percentages (for categorical data) and means and standard deviations (for numerical data). Additionally, in focus group discussions, 10 mental health professionals provided in-depth information about their clinical practice, facilitators, and perceived barriers in recommending more PA and less SB. They also provided suggestions on how to potentially improve their PA and SB counselling practices. The focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results Only 35.3% of participants have undergone formal training in recommending PA in the treatment of mental illness. Most participants (64.7%) ranked PA counselling among the top three types of mental health treatment. All participants reported recommending PA to their clients at least “occasionally”, while 88% of them also provided SB counselling. However, the recommendations provided were usually not specific. The most commonly reported barriers for providing PA and SB counselling were a lack of knowledge and confidence. Participants also believed that, if they were more active themselves, they would be in a better position to recommend PA to their clients, by sharing their own experience of evidence-informed strategies designed to increase PA and reduce SB. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate that mental health professionals commonly provide generic PA and SB counselling to their clients. PA and SB counselling in the mental health setting could be improved by: including training on PA and SB counselling in formal education and continued professional training for mental health professionals; implementing interventions to increase PA and reduce SB among mental health professionals themselves; and ensuring support from an exercise or PA promotion specialist as a part of a multi-disciplinary approach to mental health care. |
Keywords | adult; Article; audio recording; Australian; clinical practice; controlled study; counseling; Exercise in Mental Illness Questionnaire; female; health personnel attitude; human; male; mental disease; mental health care; mental health care personnel; personal experience; physical activity; quantitative analysis; questionnaire; sedentary lifestyle; thematic analysis |
ANZSRC Field of Research 2020 | 520304. Health psychology |
420799. Sports science and exercise not elsewhere classified | |
Public Notes | Copyright: © 2021 Shrestha et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
Byline Affiliations | Victoria University |
University of Zagreb, Croatia | |
Physically Active Lifestyles Research Group | |
Institution of Origin | University of Southern Queensland |
https://research.usq.edu.au/item/q6vyy/physical-activity-and-sedentary-behaviour-counselling-attitudes-and-practices-of-mental-health-professionals
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Shrestha (2021) PA counselling_mental health professionals.pdf | ||
License: CC BY 4.0 | ||
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