Associate Professor Simon Rosenbaum

@simon_rosenbaum

Physical activity in the treatment and prevention of mental illness 

From depression to schizophrenia, anxiety to post-traumatic stress – physical activity is an evidence-based strategy to reduce symptoms and promote recovery from various mental disorders. Addressing motivational deficits and overcoming barriers, especially for those that are most unwell remains an ongoing challenge to the routine implementation of physical activity as a component of mental health care. This presentation will use examples of established clinical exercise in mental health programs, with a focus on novel strategies, including staff interventions that can help facilitate culture change and physical activity adoption within mental health treatment facilities.  

About Simon: Simon Rosenbaum is Scientia Associate Professor in the School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, and an honorary fellow at the Black Dog Institute. Simon’s research focuses on physical activity, mental illness, sport for development and global mental health. Simon has worked with a variety of groups including youth, veterans, emergency service workers and refugees. Simon has published >180 peer-reviewed publications including a textbook and a Lancet Commission. He serves as an elected national director of Exercise and Sports Science Australia, the President Elect of the Australasian Society for Traumatic Stress Studies and co-chair of the Olympic Refuge Foundation’s think tank on sport and humanitarian settings. In 2019, Simon was recognised by the Clarivate Highly Cited list for mental health, awarded to the top 1% of researchers in a given field worldwide.