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In mental health physiotherapy, there is a lack of research investigating the assumptions and clinical reasoning strategies of the professionals. A critical view on what is taken for granted within physiotherapy promotes professional development. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the essence of clinical reasoning of Austrian mental health physiotherapists, and to illuminate the meaning of their experiences. Ten semi-structured individual interviews were conducted with Austrian mental health physiotherapists. The transcripts were analyzed using a phenomenological hermeneutical method. The informants' clinical reasoning emerged as a process of three perspectives: 1) a relational and interactional perspective; 2) a perspective of wholeness; and 3) a perspective of symptoms. The results were then further interpreted using the theories of intercorporeality and bodily resonance. To bring the different clinical reasoning perspectives together to one clinical reasoning process, a discourse of reconciliation is suggested as a favorable strategy, which may be useful both in clinical practice and education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety disorders are among the most persistent mental health syndromes. There is extensive research showing effectiveness of pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy interventions targeting anxiety, while knowledge is still sparse for other treatment options. The aim of this study was to explore how participants with anxiety disorders experience a physiotherapeutic group treatment in psychiatric outpatient care, and their perceived ability to manage anxiety within two months after participating in the treatment. Semi-structured interviews with participants were conducted to explore experiences of the treatment. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis, which resulted in one main theme: Reconnecting to the body in the supportive atmosphere of a group. Six categories reflect the main theme: (1) sharing with others supported by the group, (2) grounding oneself in the body, (3) getting to know the body and learning to manage its reactions, (4) learning to tolerate bodily sensations of anxiety, (5) gaining a more compassionate attitude toward oneself, and (6) challenging old patterns to become more active in life. The participants reported that their ability to reconnect to their bodies increased so that anxious sensations became more endurable and acceptable after treatment. The supportive group context was described as valuable, enabling the participants to feel safe enough to start exploring new ways to manage anxiety. In conclusion, this study suggests that a physiotherapeutic group treatment can be a useful add-on treatment to the standard treatment models of anxiety disorders, including psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy, since it targets the embodied, nonverbal domain of anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The generalized anxiety is characterized by long-term psychological and physiological discomfort. Pharmacological and psychotherapeutic interventions have been extensively examined, whereas knowledge is scant regarding other professional perspectives. This article focuses on the physiotherapeutic perspective on anxiety, exploring physiotherapists' perceptions of their treatment for patients with generalized anxiety. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 physiotherapists working in psychiatry or primary health care. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis, resulting in one main category and five subcategories. The main category 'To sense and make sense of one's anxiety' reflects the idea that physiotherapy works through immediate, tangible bodily experiences to help a person understand and handle his or her anxiety better. Five subcategories reflected different aspects of this main category: (1) the body is the arena of anxiety, (2) to get in touch with oneself, (3) to get down-to-earth with oneself, (4) to make sense of bodily sensations, and (5) to gain trust in one's capability to handle anxiety. In conclusion, the gradual bodily awareness of sensations, to sense and make sense of anxiety in physiotherapy treatment, becomes an opportunity to find ways to withstand and to manage symptoms of anxiety, encouraging an embodied self-trust. The emphasis on the immediately lived body involves the potential to learn how to endure anxiety instead of running away from it, to discern and to understand different sensations, leading to an integration of anxiety as being part of oneself rather than overflowing oneself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]