Sport and Exercise Psychiatry Special Interest Group formed
At the recent Elevate event, CIMSPA CEO Tara Dillon shared a stage with Dr Amit Mistry.
Dr Amit D Mistry (@DrAMistryPsych) is a Psychiatrist with a special interest in Sport & Exercise Psychiatry. He played Rugby Tag for Team GB from 2014-16 and has presented at various national conferences on the benefits of exercise interventions in mental health.
Amit is keen to update CIMSPA colleagues on the recent formation of the Royal College of Psychiatrists first ever Sport and Exercise Psychiatry Special Interest Group “#SEPSIG”. The founding aims of this group are to promote the benefits of physical activity interventions throughout mental health services and to raise the awareness and support for athletes requiring mental health support. Eminent sports psychiatrist, Professor Steve Peters (Chimp Paradox) along with some SEPSIG doctors recently presented some of their latest work at the inaugural “The Mental Health of Athletes-who cares?” conference at Chelsea Football stadium on the 22nd June 2017.
The ‘biopsychosocial’ benefits of exercise in mental health are now well established. Within the medical literature there is a strong signal and evidence base supporting the antidepressant effects of aerobic exercise in major depressive disorder (MDD). Further work is required to determine the evidence base for exercise interventions for other mental health conditions and determining the optimal exercise intensity (e.g. ‘light’, ‘moderate’ or ‘vigorous’) for treatment effect.
As Psychiatrists we wish to understand and eradicate the barriers that prevent those within the mental health setting from engaging in regular physical activity, especially as they tend to be in vulnerable physical health too.
The newly formed SEPSIG is keen to collaborate with other sport & exercise related health care disciplines and will shortly be updating their website page with the latest publications and resources related to Sport & Exercise Psychiatry. This can be accessed at
http://www.rcpsych.ac.uk/workinpsychiatry/specialinterestgroups/sportandexercise.aspx#res or www.sportandexercisepsychiatry.co.uk We hope to work with you all in the near future!
Upcoming Events
We are aiming to present a symposium workshop at the British Psychological Society (BPS) Division of Sport & Exercise Psychology (DSEP) annual conference in Glasgow on the 11-12th December 2017.