Background Lifestyle psychiatry emphasises the role of modifiable health behaviours such as sleep, diet, smoking cessation, and physical activity on mental health. Despite growing evidence, the integration of lifestyle psychiatry into standard mental health care remains limited. The views of psychological therapists on this integration are under researched. Aim To explore psychological therapists’ perspectives and experiences of incorporating lifestyle psychiatry into therapy. Methods Eighteen psychological therapists participated in semi-structured interviews, using reflexive thematic analysis to explore their experiences and perspectives on incorporating lifestyle psychiatry into therapy. Results Four overarching themes were developed: (1) Therapists’ conceptualisations of lifestyle; (2) The place of lifestyle in the therapy process; (3) Barriers to addressing lifestyle in therapy (4) Making it possible: facilitators and future directions. Conclusions Most therapists perceived lifestyle psychiatry as relevant and compatible with their current practice. However, structured guidance, training, and interdisciplinary collaboration were seen as necessary to embed lifestyle psychiatry into their work. Systemic changes addressing role ambiguity, service-level pressures, and client barriers may enable further integration of lifestyle psychiatry into clinical practice. Clinical trial number Not applicable.
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Wild et al. (2026) studied this question.
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