The research group’s activities are structured around two complementary domains, sports psychiatry and lifestyle psychiatry, that address distinct yet interconnected dimensions of contemporary mental health care. While each domain encompasses specific scientific and clinical priorities, both are united by a commitment to advancing the evidence base, strengthening clinical practice, and translating scientific knowledge into improved mental health outcomes.
The following sections delineate the respective scope, priorities, and areas of activity of the sports psychiatry and lifestyle psychiatry domains.
Sports Psychiatry
The sports psychiatry domain is dedicated to advancing sports psychiatry as a distinct clinical and scientific discipline and to promoting and protecting mental health across competitive and elite sport. Particular emphasis is placed on the prevention, early detection, assessment, and treatment of mental health symptoms and disorders in athletes, while accounting for the specific physiological, psychological, social, and environmental demands of high-performance sport. Psychiatric care is grounded in established principles and standards of psychiatry and adapted to the specific needs and contexts of athletes. The domain aims to advance evidence-based, state-of-the-art approaches to psychiatric assessment and care, while contributing to research, clinical expertise, education, and the development of professional standards in sports psychiatry.
Lifestyle Psychiatry
The lifestyle psychiatry domain is dedicated to the systematic integration, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based lifestyle interventions within psychiatric practice and mental health care. Particular emphasis is placed on translating evidence concerning physical activity, nutrition and diet, sleep optimisation, stress regulation and mindfulness, social connection as well as other modifiable lifestyle factors into effective, feasible, and sustainable interventions for people with mental disorders. Beyond generating and synthesizing evidence, the domain aims to strengthen implementation within routine psychiatric care and to establish lifestyle interventions as an integral component of comprehensive, evidence-based psychiatric treatment. This domain is closely connected with the work of the Competence Center for Sports and Lifestyle Psychiatry within the Adult Psychiatry Department of the University Psychiatric Centre Bern, providing an important framework for interdisciplinary collaboration, clinical implementation, research, and the further development of lifestyle-oriented approaches to psychiatric care.
