Mental Health, Sport & Physical Activity (MHSPA)

The aim of the course is twofold: on the one hand, at exploring in depth the role of physical activity and sport in mental health and how being active and engaging in sport activities can contribute to people’s wellbeing. On the other hand, at analyzing the deleterious effects of sport activity and how this may compromise mental health and sport.

The MHSPA program aims to provide an innovative educational program which will significantly contribute to the education of Sport Science, Psychology, Medicine, Nursing, and Physiotherapy students.

The study of the relationship between sport and physical activity and mental health is an innovative area of research due to its potential to impact the well-being positively or negatively. The association between sports participation and mental health has been recognized across different age groups. The potential benefits of sport and physical activity extends beyond physical health but also promoting mental health and wellbeing.

Nevertheless, practicing sport is not without risks. Mental health issues among elite athletes but even among community sport athletes and kids are a real concern. These mental health issues may have sport-related manifestations and can impair performance. Furthermore, concerns are rising regarding problematic behaviors associated to physical activity and sport practice, such as addictive patterns of exercise, substance use and abuse, and eating disorders among subgroups of people.

The innovative nature of this area of research is further underscored by the potential for sports to serve as a platform for mental health promotion and early intervention, as well as to prevent the deleterious effects of engaging in sport activities. The program is going to benefit from the needed interdisciplinary expertise that comes from Psychiatry and psychotherapy, Nurse, addiction medicine, Sport medicine, Sport Psychology, Health Psychology, Psychosomatic medicine, Physical Education and Sport Science, Physiology and Motor sciences. The program is also enriched by the input of partners working in different sport, academic, medical and cultural contexts, including sport international associations.

The MHSPA BIP will start with the physical mobility component  (in Lausanne, Switzerland) to enhance team building and student motivation via social collaboration enhanced by social events. 

This strategy will allow to create the group tutoring program, to start with the Group dynamic learning process and to facilitate the future group tasks. 

The virtual mobility program will combine synchronous teaching with online asynchronous sessions.

Teaching and Learning methods:

• lectures: They will be organized online or face-to-face, depending on the theme;
• meetings (in Lausanne) with people with life experience (with mental health and sport issues);
• meetings (in Lausanne) with sports organizations experts;
• group dynamic (in Lausanne) - solving problems, case analysis and debates aiming at promoting collaborative and interdisciplinary work;
• group tutoring: each country manager will be responsible for supporting an interdisciplinary group of students;
• individual work: during the online program, students will be asked to complete (reading, video watching, other assignments);
• group tasks: at the end of the program, students (in group of 2-3) will be asked to give an online presentation to the whole group on a theme linking sport and mental health. 

Main topics addressed

The MHSPA program will offer 4 modules:

  1. Understanding Mental Health and wellbeing, physical activity (PA) /exercise/sports and their relationships

After completing this module, participants should be able to:

• identify the main mental illnesses and have essential knowledge on their treatments.
• discuss the use of PA/ exercise/ sports as a supplement intervention to the other treatments.
• assess physical activity among people with mental health disorders.

  2. Promoting mental health and wellbeing with PA and sport

After completing this module, participants should be able to:

• describe the prevention models related to the interplays between PA, sport and mental health;
• know the recommendations related to adapted PA and exercise to patients with different mental health conditions;
• understanding the potential of digital tools and wearables in promoting physical activities.

  3. Interventions for mental health disorders based on PA and sport

After completing this module, participants should be able to:

• identify the barriers towards exercise among persons with mental disorders;
• know how to design and recommend intervention based on physical activity to promote mental wellness;
• know how to implement interventions for physical activity among people facing mental illness.

  4. Mental health risks associated with sport activities

After completing this module, participants should be able to:

• describe the main health issues the sport practice may lead (sport injuries, burnout, anxiety and depression, eating disorders, substance use, ”exercise addiction”);
• know the screening tools aiming to appraise the common conditions and risk of sport practice;
• assess the interplays between digital tools (i.e. Social media, video games), wearables and the risk associated with sport activities;
• design interventions aimed at preventing mental health issues in sports.

Learning outcomes

Key specific learning outcomes

• understand the biological, psychological and socio-cultural factors involved in mental health and their links with physical activity (M1);
• explain movement, physical activity, exercise, and sport (M2);
• design group-tailored interventions based on physical activity and sport to prevent mental disorders and promote mental health and recovery (M3);
• distinguish between healthy and unhealthy practices in sport and exercise (M4).

Secondary general learning outcomes

• know mental health and the main psychiatric classifications (M1);
• develop a multidisciplinary approach to promoting mental health using physical activity and sport (M1, 2, 3, 4);
• develop a non-stigma approach (M1, 2, 3, 4);
• explain promotion, prevention, and treatment (M2);
• summarize the factors regulating human behaviors (M1, 2);
• describe the role of digitalization in mental health and physical activity (M2, 4).