Resistance training

Domain X · Body, movement, breath & physical

What it is

Resistance training means exercise in which muscles work against a resistance (body weight, bands, free weights or machines) to build strength and muscular endurance. In the psychotherapy context it is not a therapy school but an activity the client takes up between sessions, with the therapist…

Format

• The stages below are, organised around the sources' safety and referral steps. They typically run within ongoing psychotherapy rather than as a separate course: assessment and planning usually take parts of one to three sessions, followed by brief check-ins in most later sessions and periodic…
• Stage 2. Psychoeducation and collaborative planning. Goal: an honest shared picture of what RET might offer, matched to the client's values, and a first plan for format and setting (supervised one-to-one, small group, community class, home-based with professional guidance). Readiness is matched to…

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Version followed: resistance exercise training (RET) as studied in the randomised-trial meta-analyses of Gordon and colleagues on depressive symptoms (JAMA Psychiatry, 2018) and anxiety (Sports Medicine, 2017), used here as a behavioural intervention that the psychotherapist assesses, plans and monitors while a qualified exercise professional designs and supervises the training itself. Safety screening follows the…
• What it is. Resistance training means exercise in which muscles work against a resistance (body weight, bands, free weights or machines) to build strength and muscular endurance. In the psychotherapy context it is not a therapy school but an activity the client takes up between sessions, with the therapist supporting the decision, the start, the habit and the meaning it carries.

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• What the evidence says, as attributed facts.

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• compliance to please you ("yes" without energy); therapist pressure. Working: the client voices their own reasons.
• appearance or weight goals creeping in (revisit 4.3 and 4.4); over-ambitious plans driven by perfectionism. Working: a written first step the client chose.
• obsessive logging, weighing or body measuring; distress at missed entries (signals for 4.3 and 4.4). Working: the log is brief, used, and informs decisions.
• perfectionism framing a lapse as failure; dropping all other coping strategies in favour of training. Working: the client has a written, realistic restart plan.
• freezing or dissociation when describing touch or being watched; a plan to "just push through". Working: the client has a boundary phrase and a plan, and reports using it.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.