Clinician perspectives of Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) in mental health physical therapy: An international qualitative study.

Introduction: Body awareness is a movement therapy used in Physical Therapy in Mental Health especially in Scandinavia. The method Basic Body Awareness Therapy has been scientifically investigated in particular for patients with Depression, Schizophrenia and Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD).

Methods: Thirty-four Physical Therapists from 13 countries working with the Basic Body Awareness Therapy method in Mental Health Care were interviewed in six focus groups about what effects they have experienced in their work with patients.

Bodily symptoms in patients with post traumatic stress disorder: A comparative study of traumatized refugees, Danish war veterans, and healthy controls.

Background: Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is associated with increased general health symptoms and patients suffer from numerous bodily complaints such as increased pain, increased muscular tension, and restricted breathing.

Methods And Material: This study applied the Body Awareness Movement Quality and Experience scale (BAS MQ-E) in assessing and comparing bodily symptoms, including movement function, in traumatized refugees (N = 14) and Danish war veterans with PTSD (N = 19) and healthy controls (N = 20).

Results: Patients with PTSD had significantly poorer stability, balance, flexibility and coordination in movement, had more muscular tension, more complaints of pain, more restricted breathing, and more limitation in function of daily life than healthy controls.

One-year follow-up of basic body awareness therapy in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. A small intervention study of effects on movement quality, PTSD symptoms, and movement experiences.

The present study with mixed methods design evaluated the long-term effects of Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) for patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Fifteen patients received 12 individual sessions of BBAT treatment as usual (TAU) when needed. The patients were assessed at baseline (T0), directly after treatment (T1) and at one-year follow-up (T2), using the Body Awareness Scale Movement Quality and Experience (BAS MQ-E), the Visual Analog Scale (VAS), and the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (IES-R).

Computerized physical activity training for persons with severe mental illness - experiences from a communal supported housing project.

Purpose: To study the effectiveness of Exergames in communal psychiatry for persons with severe mental illness, a randomized cluster study was performed. The hypothesis was to increase physical activity habits to improve somatic health. To identify factors promoting or impeding the use of the Exergames.

Considering the Role of Physical Therapists Within the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Individuals With Eating Disorders: An International Survey of Expert Clinicians.

Purpose: Recent research has demonstrated that physical therapy may benefit the physical and mental health of people with eating disorders (EDs). Because this is a new and developing field, this study aimed to investigate the experience, practices and knowledge of international physical therapy experts to inform clinical practice, education and research.

Methods: An international cross-sectional survey design was undertaken with experienced physical therapists within the field of EDs.

A psychometric study of the multidimensional fatigue inventory to assess fatigue in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Fatigue is frequently reported by patients with mental illness. The multidimensional fatigue inventory (MFI-20) is a self-assessment instrument with 20 items including five dimensions of fatigue. The purpose of this study was to examine the test-retest reliability, internal consistency, convergent construct validity and feasibility of using MFI-20 in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

The physiotherapists' experience of Basic Body Awareness Therapy in patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorders.

Background: Scandinavian physiotherapists (PT) treat patients with schizophrenia and schizophrenia spectrum disorder, mainly because of the latter's bodily difficulties. One commonly used method is Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT), targeting the difficulties with sensory motor dysfunction and disembodiment. The aim of the study is to describe the physiotherapist's experiences of using BBAT for patients with Schizophrenia.

International Organization of Physical Therapy in Mental Health consensus on physical activity within multidisciplinary rehabilitation programmes for minimising cardio-metabolic risk in patients with schizophrenia.

Purpose: The excess cardiovascular morbidity associated with schizophrenia is attributed to an interplay between behavioural (physical inactivity, unhealthy diet, substance abuse), genetic and illness related factors, as well as the effects of antipsychotic treatment. Patients have limited access to physical healthcare with less opportunity for cardiovascular risk prevention and treatment programmes than the non-psychiatric population. The aim of this paper is to improve physical activity (PA) within rehabilitation programmes for people with schizophrenia.

Test-retest reliability of two instruments for measuring public attitudes towards persons with mental illness.

Background: Research has identified stigmatization as a major threat to successful treatment of individuals with mental illness. As a consequence several anti-stigma campaigns have been carried out. The results have been discouraging and the field suffers from lack of evidence about interventions that work.

Embodied identity--a deeper understanding of body awareness.

The aims of this study were to explore and generate an understanding of the meaning of body awareness through explanations of the experience of body awareness given by professionals and patients in psychiatric rehabilitation. A total of 20 strategically selected healthy informants were interviewed individually and in groups. Thirteen previous interviews with physiotherapists and 11 previous interviews with patients in psychiatric rehabilitation, describing their experiences of body awareness therapy and its effects were reanalyzed and included in the data for this study; in all 44 informants were included.

The experiences of basic body awareness therapy in patients with schizophrenia.

Background: Basic Body Awareness Therapy (BBAT) is a physiotherapeutic treatment method that is commonly used in Scandinavian mental health services. However, for patients with schizophrenia, there are few studies that verify the effectiveness of BBAT, or explain which dysfunctions or disabilities BBAT has an effect on in this group of patients. The aim of the present study was thus to describe patients' experiences of BBAT, focusing on perceived main treatment effects.

Stability limits, single-leg jump, and body awareness in older Tai Chi practitioners.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Setting: University-based rehabilitation center.

Participants: Tai Chi practitioners (n=24; age+/-SD, 68.

Attitudes towards mental illness among health care students at Swedish universities--a follow-up study after completed clinical placement.

The aim of the study was to examine the changes in attitudes towards mental illness after theoretical education and clinical placement among students from university programmes preparing for different kinds of health professions. Three different questionnaires were used, measuring the level of familiarity with mental illness and attitudes towards mental illness in general and towards specific mental illnesses. The data were collected on two occasions, before the theoretical course and after the completed clinical placement.

Reliability of the Body Awareness Scale-Health.

In physical therapy the clinical assessment Body Awareness Scale-Health (BAS-H) focusing on the quality of movements and movement behaviour has previously been studied for validity. The aim of this study was to address the inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability in three groups. The groups assessed were: patients in psychiatric care with eating disorders (n = 26), patients in rehabilitation of prolonged musculoskeletal pain (n = 22) and healthy individuals (n = 22).