This is a continuation of my last blog, where I discussed the benefits of having a dietitian on staff. Having a variety of services can add customer service opportunities and improve your bottom line. I’m individually addressing a mix of personnel beyond the personal trainer norm, and how they can be beneficial to a gym facility. Today, I’ll be talking about the therapist.
So, are they helpful? “The short answer is yes!,” exclaimed Rebekah Burke, MSSW, CSW from Louisville, Ky. “But let’s break down why that is. When a person is working out at the gym, they want to change something about their appearance, lifestyle, or health status. Usually that involves putting the body through physical discomfort and maintaining a high level of mental stamina to keep up with an individual’s fitness goals. I have a hard time thinking of anything more difficult than putting your body and your mind through such a challenging task.”
She added, “Personal trainers are available to maintain the physical stamina it takes to achieve weight loss goals, so why isn’t there access to someone who will offer the support and structure to maintain the mental stamina? … That is where the therapist can make all the difference to help clients maintain real and permanent change.”
Leah Richmond, B.S. in Psychology and Religion, from Chicago, added to the topic of working with the mental side of weight loss: “Motivation, either in terms of eating or exercising, has a lot to do with the negative thoughts that de-energize them. So when you’re telling yourself things like ‘you’re fat,’ that is actually taking away from your energy. So, in psychology, if someone is stirring in the direction of thinking positively or teaching how to challenge those negative thoughts, that’s going to be a big way to give yourself more energy that can be applied to either exercising or focusing on your eating.”
Therapists, like dietitians, are trained extensively in their field. They’re knowledgeable with handling clients suffering from a range of disorders such as depression, anxiety, binge eating, bipolar and panic disorders, to name a few. It is outside the scope of practice for a personal trainer to prescribe therapy, so hiring a therapist can increase your team’s scope of practice, thus making it easier to serve your member’s needs.
How could you use a therapist?
Jamal Thruston is a certified personal trainer in Louisville, Ky., who specializes in weight management, behavioral change and health coaching. For questions, e-mail Jamal at jamalthruston@gmail.com.
