World Mental Health Day is celebrated annually on 10 October, a date established by the World Federation for Mental Health (FMSM). Today, the World Health Organisation also recognises and marks this day. This year's theme is "Making mental health and well-being a global priority".
O World Mental Health Report of the WHO, published in June 2022, revealed that already before the pandemic, in 2019, around one billion people were struggling with some kind of mental disorder.
Physiotherapy in Mental Health
On this World Mental Health Day, the Board of the Order salutes the work done by physiotherapists in the field of mental health.
In Portugal, of the 8905 Physiotherapists registered with the Order, 693 report having obtained additional qualifications in the area of Mental Health and 598 report having clinical activity in Mental Health (graph 1. distribution by district). There are also 185 physiotherapists with additional qualifications and clinical activity in Mental Health, according to the information extracted from the registration form.
Note: the data does not include members who have suspended or cancelled their membership.
Physiotherapy in Mental Health is a transversal and specific area of Physiotherapy, which operates in different health, mental health, psychiatric and psychosomatic medicine environments. Its aim is to optimise well-being through health education strategies and the promotion of 1) awareness of the body, movement and emotions 3) functionality, 4) exercise and physical activity, always integrating the physical, mental and relational dimensions.
Physiotherapy can act in Mental Health, namely in the relationship between somatic disorders and psychological problems (sleep disturbances, fear related to pain, psychological stress and depressed mood associated with a clinical condition); the relationship between mild mental disorders and the main chronic non-communicable diseases (anxiety and moderate depression associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, diabetes and cancer), the relationship between somatic disorders and mild mental health disorders (depression associated with chronic pain, post-traumatic stress disorder associated with fibromyalgia and anxiety associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and in the specialised approach to serious mental illnesses (major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders and addictive behaviours and dependencies) in psychiatric units/hospitals.