Lifestyle Psychiatry in Mental Health Care: Knowledge, Practices and Attitudes of Australian Health Practitioners

This study sought to examine Australian health practitioners' knowledge, practices, and attitudes regarding lifestyle psychiatry to help elucidate factors driving an implementation gap. A convergent parallel mixed methods design was employed using an online survey with closed- and open-ended questions on eight lifestyle interventions. 212 eligible health practitioners working in or referring to mental health settings completed an online survey. Descriptive analyses were used for quantitative data, and conventional content analysis for qualitative data. Results indicated that 73.6% of participants had knowledge of lifestyle psychiatry. Two categories described their understanding of lifestyle psychiatry in mental health care: Lifestyle interventions are non-medical adjuncts that complement current practices; and lifestyle interventions empower behaviour change across a range of domains. Most participants considered all eight lifestyle interventions to be evidence-based. The mean number of lifestyle interventions in which participants had received additional training was 1.65, most commonly in mindfulness and stress reduction. Five categories were constructed from respondents' perceived benefits of lifestyle interventions: psychological health, physical health, self-empowerment, holistic wellbeing, and connection to self, other and the wider context. Perceived risks fell into three categories: psychological distress, physical harm, and social and economic impacts. Incorporation of lifestyle psychiatry into patient care varied across interventions; dietary interventions and smoking cessation had the largest implementation gap. Overall, respondents identified benefits of lifestyle psychiatry for holistic mental health care but limited integration, possibly due to perceived risks and insufficient training. Findings support calls for strengthened professional development and embedded training in lifestyle psychiatry within health degrees.