Germany
Organisation: ZFP Klinikum Schloß Winnenden
Programme name: Sport and Exercise Therapy
City: Winnenden (headquarters), outposts in Ellwangen and Schwäbisch Gmünd
Sport / Physical activity:
- “Vitalgymnastik” (revitalizing exercise)
- Muscle training
- Endurance training
- Tai chi
- Archery
Programme information, aims and objectives: ZFP Klinikum Schloß Winnenden is a psychiatric clinic responsible for the regions of Rems-Murr-Kreis, Ostalbkreis and Ludwigsburg Süd district in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It offers inpatient, outpatient and semi stationary treatment options. At Klinikum Schloß Winnenden, each patient receives a customized psychiatric treatment plan comprised of different building blocks intended to promote early improvement of the mental state. The main building blocks considered in each customized treatment are psychotherapy, psycho-pharmacotherapy and psychoeducation, these are supplemented by optional building blocks that are recommended to the patients.
Sport and Exercise Therapy is one of the optional components in the patient’s treatment. It defines three main aims: to improve physical fitness (motor aim), increase mental well-being (psychosocial aim), and to motivate the patient to continue exercising after the treatment ends (cognitive aim). To achieve these aims, the type and intensity of the exercise is highly customized to the patient according to their physical and psychological disposition. Different options are offered, like muscle training, endurance training, tai chi, archery, or “Vitalgymnastik”, a highly customizable exercising method designed to systematically increase fitness and improve mobility even in adverse conditions, such as low motivation, physical handicap or little time for exercising.
In this way, physical exercise, customized to the patient’s capacities, promotes the regulation of psycho-physiological activation to help improving mood.
Participants: Patients at Klinikum Schloß Winnenden can voluntarily participate in Sport and Exercise Therapy as an optional component of their treatment plan. The training groups are conformed between 5 and 15 participants of all ages. Patients of any psychiatric diagnosis can participate but the most common conditions are addictive disorders, affective disorders and psychotic syndromes. Participants can remain engaged as long as they receive treatment in the clinic. This period can vary between weeks and months, but the participants are encouraged to continue physical exercise in other groups after their treatment is completed.
Sessions: Sport and Exercise Therapy sessions are offered daily at the clinic, between 8.00 and 16.00 hours. The sessions can take place either indoors in a gym or ourdoors in the clinic’s gardens depending on the activity. Periodic Nordic Walking Expeditions in the clinic’s surroundings are also organized. The different groups can train once or twice per day. Most patients train between 3 to 5 times per week. The training sessions last between 50 to 90 minutes, depending on the day’s routine. Each training session is followed by a feedback round where participants can share their training experience. The intensity of exercise remains intermediate most of the time, and is carefully monitored to match the patient’s capacity based on heart rate and on the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion. In this way, the training evolves as the patient’s physical capacity improves.
Evaluation/Measurement of outcomes: Patient evaluation is carried by the medical personnel at the clinic within the frame of the overall psychiatric treatment plan, where Sport and Exercise Therapy continues to play an important role. Klinikum Schloß Winnenden is subjected to continuous internal quality control management in all of its processes. Through these procedures the clinic achieved the “Cooperation for Transparency and Quality in Health Care“ (Kooperation für Transparenz und Qualität im Gesundheitswesen, “KTQ”) certificate, one of the leading certification procedures for hospitals in Germany, Switzerland and Austria.
Further information: www.zfp-winnenden.de/P1445
