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Mind launches Safe & Effective Practice guidance for physical activity

1.6 million people are currently stuck on waiting lists for NHS mental health services. Sport, physical activity and movement can play a powerful role in helping people with mental health problems to stay well.

An image of members of a wheelchair basketball team talking to a coach on the court. The caption reads: Safe and Effective Practice, new guidance on physical activity and mental health provision

With over 3 million coaches, the sport and physical activity sector has a huge potential to support the nation’s mental health.

That’s why, together with their partners, Mind is launching brand new guidance on safe and effective practice for those delivering physical activity and mental health programmes.

With more programmes taking place across the country – in local parks to mental health inpatient wards - the guidance will give you the confidence to safely and effectively support the mental health of participants as well as those involved in delivery.

Over the last year, Mind has worked closely with people who have lived experience of mental health problems, as well as coaches, front-line deliverers and healthcare professionals from 150+ sport, mental health and physical health organisations to find out what best practice looks like in a range of settings.

These settings include:

  1. Independent: at home, outdoors or online settings which support people to be physically active on their own.
  2. Community open: population-level programmes aiming to engage the public in physical activity, sport or sport for development.
  3. Community targeted – mental health: Targeted programmes that deliver wider health, wellbeing and/or social outcomes, intentionally designed to support specific mental health outcomes.
  4. Primary care: Services that provide the first point of contact in the healthcare system.
  5. Secondary care: Services which provide expert care and specialist treatment for patients who have been referred from primary care services.

The guidance will help to shape future physical activity delivery across each of these settings to support mental health outcomes, ensuring participants and those delivering sessions are kept safe throughout the process.

You can read the Safe & Effective Practice report on Mind's website.

In September 2025, Mind will be releasing a summary report plus lots of handy resources and tools to help you break down the guidance and what it means for you in practice.