Exploring Mental Health Professionals’ Perceptions of Physical Activity Provision for Mental Health Service Users

Physical activity can be beneficial for physical health, mental health, and personal recovery for mental health service users. However, mental health service users have lower levels of physical activity than the general population. Mental health professionals hold important roles in influencing the care of mental health service users and supporting engagement with therapeutic activities. To explore experiences of mental health professionals relating to physical activity for mental health service users within two UK-based Community Mental Health Teams. Semi-structured interviews were completed with twelve mental health professionals. Participants were from a range of professional backgrounds that represented the multi-disciplinary nature of Community Mental Health Teams. Three main themes were identified: the positive resourceful past, the current diluted community mental health team, and how to make physical activity successful within mental health services. Participants felt resources previously available through the Community Mental Health Team enabled its service users to engage with physical activity more readily. However, the current functioning of the team provided mental health service users with limited resources to enable them to engage with physical activity. Recommendations regarding how physical activity can be successful within a Community Mental Health Team are made.