Voluntary group sports for individuals with psychiatric disorders: a dual qualitative study with participants and coaches

Abstract

Introduction & purpose: Regular physical activity is known to support mental health and can help prevent relapse following psychiatric treatment (Claussen & Seifritz, 2024). Although physical activity is routinely integrated into inpatient psychiatric care in Switzerland (Brand et al., 2016), many individuals with mental health disorders (IMHD) have limited opportunities to remain physically active after hospital discharge. Since 2016, voluntary sports groups (VSG) for IMHD have been increasingly offered across Switzerland, mainly coordinated by PluSport, the national umbrella organization for disability sports (Kiselev & Loosli, 2019). However, little is known about how these groups function in practice, how IMHD experience participation, and which factors influence engagement. To address this, two qualitative studies examined: (1) the perspectives of IMHD participating in VSG, and (2) the views of the coaches leading these groups.

Methods: Each study consisted of 15 semi-structured interviews, including one with IMHD participants and one with VSG coaches. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis (Guest et al., 2006; Guest et al., 2014).

Results: Interviewees identified several facilitators that support participation, including group accessibility, social encouragement, and coaches’ interpersonal and boundary-setting skills. At the same time, diverse barriers were reported, including personal challenges, organizational constraints, and broader social attitudes. IMHD described primarily positive physical, psychological, and social effects of participation. Coaches emphasized the meaningfulness of their role and the value they see in supporting IMHD through sports (Baumberger et al., 2024; Epiney et al., 2023).

Discussion/Conclusion: VSG appear to provide an important space for IMHD to engage in physical activity beyond clinical settings. Efforts to reduce participation barriers and to recruit and train trainers with strong interpersonal competencies may strengthen the accessibility and sustainability of these groups. A larger-scale, quantitative study is warranted to further validate and develop these findings. Furthermore, the specific needs of other age groups (e.g., adolescents) need to be investigated to provide better access to VSG throughout the lifespan.

References

Baumberger, C., Wieber, F., Pauli, C., Loosli, D., Kleim, B., & Kiselev, N. (2024). Active bodies - active minds? A deep dive into the voluntary sports programs for individuals with psychiatric disorders in Switzerland: participants view. BMC Public Health, 24(1), 3493. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-024-21012-8

Brand, S., Colledge, F., Beeler, N., Pühse, U., Kalak, N., Bahmani, D. S., Mikoteit, T., Holsboer-Trachsler, E., & Gerber, M. (2016). The current state of physical activity and exercise programs in German-speaking, Swiss psychiatric hospitals: results from a brief online survey. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 12, 1309. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S107313

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Epiney, F., Wieber, F., Loosli, D., Znoj, H., & Kiselev, N. (2023). Voluntary sports programs for individuals with mental health disorders: The trainer's view. PLoS ONE, 18(10), e0290404. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0290404

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Guest, G., MacQueen, K. M., & Namey, E. E. (2014). Introduction to Applied Thematic Analysis. In Applied Thematic Analysis (pp. 3–20). SAGE Publications.

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