MENTAL HEALTH
Case study: The Up and Running programme benefits women with mental health issues
We tend to medicalise mental illness, but the truth is that many people slide in and out of depression and anxiety disorders
traumatic stress disorder. “The education we delivered helped practitioners understand what life is like living with long-term mental illnesses,” says Douglas. So how might a fi tness session for a
mental health population differ from other sessions? “It’s not so much the format or structure as the atmosphere and approach,” says Owen. Heal agrees: “You might need to take more time over things and focus on the process, rather than the outcome. You don’t want exercise to become another stress for someone.” Those involved with delivering BALP
sessions were taught the importance of creating a safe, supportive environment.
“As an instructor or coach, it’s less about knowing all the answers regarding any given mental health condition and more about focusing on the individual’s needs at that time,” says Owen.
Universal benefits Heal wonders whether gyms would benefit from a resident or attached mental health expert: “You’d expect there to be professionals in physical health – why not in mental health?” she asks. “They could be there to advise the
health club users, but also be a point of contact for other staff at the facility.” Douglas believes the real solution lies
in being able to break down the barriers and stigma surrounding mental health issues. “Even the terms we use – ‘people with mental health problems’ – create a rift that makes it seem ‘they’ aren’t normal, and ‘we’ are, when of course all of us, regardless of our mental health status, want to have fun, enjoy social activities and have access to exercise and work opportunities,” she says. Heal agrees. “We tend to medicalise
mental illness, but the truth is that many people slide in and out of depression and anxiety disorders,” she says.
“Physical activity has the same benefi ts for everyone – and while many of these are long-term, perhaps what’s more useful in terms of mental health is to focus on the immediate payoffs. ‘Feel better this afternoon than you did this morning’ is a very powerful message for health clubs to get across.” ●
See p30 for a discussion on whether the fi tness sector is geared up to deal with mental health issues.
60 Read Health Club Management online at
healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital
Up and Running In 2010, clinical psychologist Harriet Heal and running coach Shona Campbell founded Up and Running, a 10-week running programme specifically geared towards women suffering mental health problems. Through her own experience
of depression, Campbell had seen fi rst-hand the difference lacing up her trainers could make, and Heal needed little convincing: “I don’t know any runner who doesn’t believe it helps their mental health,” she says. But Up and Running isn’t just
about getting the miles in. “Many of the benefi ts come from the social and mutually supportive aspect of being with people who have experienced similar problems,” says Heal. “People don’t have to discuss their mental health if they don’t want to, but know they’re in a safe, non-judgmental place to do so.” Participant feedback thus far
shows that 90 per cent of women believe it has had a positive impact on their mood and mental health; 100 per cent would recommend it to others. “There are former Up and Running course participants who still meet up once a week to have a walk and a coffee together,” says Heal. She and Campbell have been approached by other groups and individuals interested in setting up similar schemes. Watch this space...
www.upandrunninginsevenoaks.org.uk
Details: www.
upandrunninginsevenoaks.org.uk
June 2014 © Cybertrek 2014
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