Exercise as a Counseling Intervention

The focus of wellness counseling is to guide individuals to live a healthy life in which body, mind, and spirit are integrated in order to experience fulfillment and happiness. Exercise undoubtedly has physical and psychological benefits in the human body and spirit. However, adherence to exercise has proven to be the greatest obstacle in getting individuals to experience the benefits of exercise. In addition, there is little research that gives counselors guidelines on how to use exercise as a therapeutic tool. The purpose of this article is to provide counselors steps to follow when using exercise as a counseling intervention and to provide techniques that will encourage exercise adherence.