The mental health hub

Exercise for mental illness is rehabilitative, reparative and preventative; its therapeutic benefit has long been known, and is robustly documented in both research and practice.

Here you will find a host of educational resources about mental health and exercise, all in one place. Welcome to your mental health hub.


Our mental health expertise

At Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation, we offer exercise physiology services for a range of diagnosed mental illnesses including depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorders – as well as, simply, ill mental health. In the 2022-2023 financial year, 27% of our referrals came from mental health/psychological injuries. Our programs act to complement traditional mental health interventions, such as psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy.

Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation are national leaders in the provision of exercise interventions for people living with mental illness and psychological injury. They have pioneered novel models of care and developed resources that have informed practice both nationally in Australia and overseas. I applaud Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation for addressing a clear gap in the care of injured workers and look forward to continuing to work alongside them in the future.

Simon Rosenbaum – Scientia Associate Professor in the School of Psychiatry, UNSW Sydney, and an honorary fellow at the Black Dog Institute

Our difference with mental health claims

Clinical expertise

We are industry leaders in clinically-guided, best-practice exercise-based interventions across a broad spectrum of injuries and illnesses.

Personalised and personable

We work closely with our clients and stakeholders to provide a bespoke service that encapsulates humanistic principles and behaviours.

Client outcomes

We are committed to, and passionate about, facilitating the earliest safe, appropriate and sustainable return to work – ensuring a cost-effective mobile rehabilitation service.

FREE Mental Health Guidebook

In this guidebook, we explore mental health and exercise – and more specifically, how engaging in exercise and physical activity can potentially improve mental health.

Initially setting the foundations by helping you to understand the sometimes complex and multidimensional nature of what happens in our bodies when we exercise, the overarching purpose of this guidebook is to provide you with the confidence and practical skills needed to make tangible lifestyle modifications and engage in physical activity in order to improve your mental health long term.

Our clinical expertise

Depression and physical activity

Searches yielded 111 reports including over 3 million adults sampled from 11 nations in 5 continents included in this systematic and meta-analysis review of prospective cohort studies in adults, reporting associations between physical activity and depression.

Exercise for depression

The traditional treatment approach for depression has centered around pharmacological and psychological interventions. While effective, not all people will respond to these treatments, and recent literature has highlighted the positive effects of increasing physical activity levels in reducing
the incidence of depression.

Heath information sheets

Using exercise to manage stress

Using exercise to manage depression

Using exercise to manage PTSD

Food, mood and mental health

Mental health and sleep hygiene

Mental health and healthy eating

Watch our mental health videos playlist

Client outcomes

A High Impact Exercise Program for PTSD

Telehealth for Mental Health: An Exercise Rehabilitation Program

Exercise Rehabilitation for Anxiety and Depression

A High Variety Exercise Program for Wholebeing Health

Multi-Location Work Conditioning for Mental Health

Cardiovascular Conditioning for PTSD

2022 ALUCA award winners!

With the onset of COVID-19, an inability to provide face to face services, and an anticipated increase in mental health conditions, BT and Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation identified the opportunity to create a bespoke support service: the BT Activate Program.

Related news articles

The Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Mental Health and Wellbeing in the Community

Exercise for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder

Physical Activity, Depression and Inflammation

Mental Health Awareness Week

Guardian Exercise Rehabilitation Becomes Signatory to Equally Well

Additional resources

Our Expertise with Mental Illness

Mental Health and Exercise Flyer

Mental Health First Aid Quick Reference

Mental Health First Aid: Cues and Questioning

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