A total of 95 per cent of complex mental health patients who have taken part in a form of therapy involving a trampoline have reported significant improvements in their mood and happiness.

Rebound therapy is a therapeutic exercise that St Andrew’s Healthcare has been using with patients who have complex psychological and physical needs.

Originally developed by Physiotherapist Eddy Anderson in the 1960s, the innovative approach which been shown to increase mobility, help with emotional regulation and boost muscle strength, has been rolled out across the complex mental health charity.

Sports and Exercise Therapist Abigail Ralph, who introduced the therapy to the organisation, said: “We know that patients in psychiatric care often end up highly inactive and the sedentary behaviour leads to a mass of physical health issues.” 

Now, the therapy is being rolled our across many of the Occupational Therapy teams at the complex mental health charity.

Abigail added: “I felt strongly about introducing Rebound to create interest in patients who were tired of the usual exercise interventions often offered in healthcare settings, especially when patients in psychiatric care can often be emotionally dysregulated, it can be very difficult to build momentum to start exercise.

“I saw the opportunity to introduce an intervention model that caters to various fitness levels and abilities that would ultimately support physical health as well as addressing sensory integration needs and emotional dysregulation. We’ve been holding Rebound sessions for a while and the feedback has been hugely positive.”

Surveys carried out among the participating patients from the women’s mental health services have shown that 60 per cent of patients enrolled on the therapy programme have improved overall strength and fitness being able to perform high level movements.

Additionally, 95 per cent report an improvement in mood post session, and use it as a focus to remain risk free in order to be able to attend the session.

A patient, who has been participating in the therapy for several months, said: “I felt very nervous when staff suggested to me trying out a trampoline as I had never been on one before. But staff gave me lots of praise and encouragement. Now that I’ve built up my confidence I’ve started to learn some new movements.

“Once I’ve finished, I do feel more motivated and happier. I have also recently started to feel a lot more confident.”

St Andrew’s Healthcare’s CEO Dr Vivienne McVey said: “At St Andrew’s we’re proud to provide tailored Rebound therapy for those patients who wish to participate. We’re able to devise specific programmes to suit each patients’ needs across our site. Many of our Occupational and Sports Therapists are now trained using Rebound and incorporate games within their sessions so that our patients can develop their teamwork skills, communication and sensory skills.

“We’ve also started combining Rebound Therapy with other therapeutic approaches such as Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT). For our patients who have learning disabilities or sensory issues, our teams create comfortable environments using lighting and music. Combined with the gentle jumping, patients  are able to focus entirely on their own bodies, rather than being overstimulated by everything else around them.”