The document discusses the integration of physiology and mental health to enhance psychological treatment outcomes through interventions based on learning theory and behavioral analysis. It explores the importance of physical activity in mental health, detailing its effects on brain function and emotional regulation, while also addressing cognitive development theories by Piaget and intrinsic motivation principles. Additionally, it highlights the roles of various brain structures in emotional responses, the impact of stress on health, and strategies for improving mental well-being.

1. Physiology & Mental Health
Integrating the elements of the mind and body to improve
client success with psychological treatment

2. iHES...who we are
Innovative Health Education Solutions (iHES) uses
unbiased behavioral analyses and assessments to gather
actionable data to apply interventions based on the
principles of learning theory. The objective design,
implementation, and evaluation of programs, procedures,
and technology are used to improve socially significant
behaviors based on solution driven goals resulting in
personal, organizational, and institutional best practices.

3. iHES...what we do
iHES provides educational services that focus on making
quantifiable academic progress by guiding therapeutic
activities that are intrinsically motivating, addresses
foundational and functional areas of need, and are linked to
all with varying special needs, ranging from children who
have a formal diagnosis and may be struggling with
situations,such as focusing in the classroom, to adults who
need help in improving interpersonal and intrapersonal
relationships.

5. The Brain minus Pinky

6. Information overload
Pons-relays impulses to and from the medulla
oblongata and the cerebrum and cerebellum
Corpus Callosum-nerve fibers that connect the
cerebral hemispheres
Medulla Oblongata-controls cardiac impulses
transmitted from the heart to the peripheral nerves,
initiates impulses that travel to smooth muscle,
causes vasoconstriction and vasodilation, works
with the pons to regulate breathing rate, rhythm,
and depth.

7. The Amygdala
The amygdala receives inputs from all senses as well as visceral
inputs. Since the amygdala is very important in emotional learning it
is not surprising that visceral inputs are a major input source.
The central nucleus of the amygdala produces autonomic
components of emotion (e.g., changes in heart rate, blood pressure,
and respiration) primarily through output pathways to the lateral
hypothalamus and brain stem.

8. Getting nervous yet?
Autonomic Nervous System-the portion of
the peripheral nervous systems that contains
both the sympathetic and parasympathetic
divisions.
Sympathetic-prepares the body for energy-
expending, stress or emergency situations
Parasympathetic is active under ordinary,
restful conditions and counterbalances the
sympathetic system and restores
homeostasis.

9. Autonomically nervous?

10. Motor and Sensory Control

11. The General Adaptation Syndrome
● A pattern of stress responses consisting of three stages: alarm, resistance,
and exhaustion (Insel & Roth, 2010).
Flight
or
Flight
Response

12. Allostatic Load
● Long term exposure to stress hormones such as cortisol has been linked
to several acute and chronic health problems.
● The long-term wear and tear of the stress response is called the allostatic
load (Insel & Roth, 2010).
● Allostatic load is dependent on many factors;
o genetic
o life experiences
o emotional and behavioral responses
● Individuals need to develop coping mechanisms to shut down the stress
response and to restore the balance (homeostasis) and return to the
resistance stage.

13. Locus of Control
● Belief that someone or something else controls a situation or that an
individual not act in a particular way because of peer repercussion thus
becoming easily frustrated is a characteristic of external locus of control
(Donatelle, 2013)
● Belief that an individual believes they they have power over their own
action is an internal locus of control. Results in stating their opinion and
being true to their beliefs (Donatelle, 2013).
OUT OF EXTERNAL OR INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL
WHICH ONE IS KEY IN CONTROLLING
PHYSICAL, MENTAL, SOCIAL, & EMOTIONAL HEALTH?

14. Who, what, when, why, & where?
According to the World Health Organization (WHO) (2013), the most common
psychological disorders in the United States are ____________ and
__________ _________?
Both William James (1899) and Hippocrates (n.d.) prescribed exercise for their
patients who suffered from these disorders!
SO WHY AREN’T WE DOING IT?

15. The Dimensions of Wellness & Health
-Physical Wellness -
Physical Health
-Emotional Wellness* -
Emotional Health*
-Intellectual Wellness* -
Intellectual Health*
-Interpersonal Wellness* -Social Health*
-Spiritual Wellness -
Spiritual Health
-Environmental Wellness -Environmental
Health

16. Etiology of mental health
● Actions at the brain level are responsible for most if not all mental and
psychological processes (Dishman, Washburn, and Heath, 2012).
● Brain functioning is controlled by genes
● Social, developmental, and environmental factors can produce alterations
in gene expression
● Alterations in gene expression induce changes in brain functioning
THEREFORE
● Treatments for mental illness exert their effect by producing alterations in
gene expression, resulting in beneficial changes in brain function
(Dishman, Washburn, and Heath, 2012).

17. Development and Learning
Piaget’s Stages of Cognitive Development (2009) suggest that a child's
cognitive development is about a child developing or constructing a mental
model of the world.
Piaget believed that children think differently than adults and stated they go
through four (4) universal stages of cognitive development.
Development is biologically based and changes as the child matures.
Cognition develops in all children in the same sequence of stages.
Sensorimotor Preoperational Concrete Operational
Formal Operational
0 - 2 yrs. 2 - 7 yrs. 7 – 11 yrs.

18. Development and Learning
Piaget (1952) did not explicitly relate his theory to education, although later
researchers have explained how features of Piaget's theory can be applied to
teaching and learning.
Learning should be centered and accomplished through active discovery. Thus
the role of the provider is to facilitate learning, rather than direct tuition.
“Learning comes from the act of drawing out education not pouring it in”

19. Development and Learning
Providers should encourage the following within the learning environment:
● Focus on the process of learning, rather than the end product of it.
● Using active methods that require rediscovering or reconstructing
"truths".
● Using collaborative, as well as individual activities (so individuals can
learn from each other).
● Devising situations that present useful problems, and create
disequilibrium in the individual.
● Evaluate the level of the individual’s development, so suitable tasks can
be set.

20. Development and Learning
According to Piaget (1958), assimilation and
accommodation require an active learner, not a passive
one, because problem-solving skills cannot be taught,
they must be discovered.

21. In vs. Out and Ex vs In...
The comprehensive theory of human motivation, Self-
Determination Theory (SDT), developed by Edward Deci
and Richard Ryan (1985), suggests that intrinsic
motivation, the most internalized form of motivation, is
dependent on the fulfillment of three basic human needs:
autonomy, competence and relatedness. If these needs are
indeed fulfilled, self-determination to engage in a particular
behavior is much more likely.

22. In vs. Out and Ex vs In...

23. In vs. Out and Ex vs In...
Doing a particular behavior because of guilt or wanting the approval of others drives introjected
regulation and is slightly more internalized than external regulation.
Someone who experiences identified regulation may participate in a behavior because it may be
beneficial in achieving an important goal; however, the activity may still not be enjoyable to this
individual.
The most internalized form of extrinsic motivation is integrated regulation. Here, the individual
experiences an agreement between personal values or beliefs and the behavior.
At the very right of the continuum is intrinsic motivation. Someone who is intrinsically motivated
does not really need encouragement because the activity itself is enjoyable.
Typically, this individual’s needs for autonomy, competence and relatedness are satisfied here. This
client may simply need you as a means for learning new skills, continued relatedness and challenge.

24. Is it physical activity, exercise, or physical fitness?
Physical activity is defined as any bodily movement produced by skeletal
muscles that results in energy expenditure (i.e. occupational, sports,
household, conditioning).
Exercise is a subset of physical activity that is planned, structured, and
repetitive and has as a final or an intermediate objective the improvement or
maintenance of physical fitness (i.e. running a 5K, lifting weights/resistance
training)
Physical fitness is a set of attributes that are either health- or skill-related (i.e.
cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular strength, reaction time, vertical jump)

25. Physical activity and mental health
● Physical activity is a unique concept among behavioral
treatments for mental health.
● Increasing the metabolism through physical exertion
produces several acute and chronic adaptations
regarding mental health.
● Alterations to the endorphin hormones reduces arousal
which in turn alters brain electrocortical activity.

26. Physical activity and mental health
● Suppression of noradrenaline and serotonin levels influences
the brain benzodiazepine systems. Physical activity increases
adrenaline and serotonin helping the brain level the system
off.
● Physical activity helps reduce muscles reflexes and tension;
therefore, it helps the brain (made up of smooth muscle
fibers) to relax.
● Physical activity and exercise activates the sympathetic
nervous system and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical
axis (HPA axis) which helps to regulate the immune

27. State and Trait Anxiety
● State anxiety is defined as moment to moment changes in feelings
of nervousness, worry, and apprehension associated with arousal
of the body. State anxiety also refers to “right now” feelings that
change from moment to moment.
● Trait anxiety is defined as an acquired disposition that predisposes
a person to perceive a wide-range of objectively non-dangerous
circumstances as threatening and to respond to these with
disproportionate state anxiety levels. It is also considered to be a
personality disposition that is stable over time.

28. State and Trait Anxiety
● State anxiety
o Raglin & Wilson (1996), reported that state anxiety can remain
decreased up to two (2) hours after 20 minutes of aerobic
exercise.
● Trait anxiety
o Petruzzello et al. (1991) and Landers and Petruzzello (1994)
concluded through meta-analyses studies that there was on
0.05 standard deviation regarding a reduction in changes in
anxiety levels among participants.

29. How would you use this therapy?
● Many mental health disorders may be associated with
imbalances in neurotransmitters which are the
chemicals that influence the activity of brain cells that
regulate mood, pleasure, and rational thought (Kandal,
1998).
● The amygdala plays a key role integrating overt
behavior, autonomic responses, and hormonal
response during stress and emotion.
● Activity in the amygdala is elevated among
patients/clients with depression or anxiety disorders.

30. How would you use this therapy?
● The hippocampus processes memories of the
environmental content in which an emotion occurs. If
there is damage to the hippocampus the emotion will
still be experiences oftentimes at inappropriate times
and places.
● The goal is to remove the environmental anxiety or
imbalance thus enabling the creation of a truly
therapeutic environment.

31. References
Caspersen, C. J., Powell, K. E., & Christenson, G. M. (1985). Physical activity, exercise, and physical fitness: definitions and distinctions for health-related research. Public Health
Reports, 100(2), 126–131.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum
Dishman, R.K., Washburn, R.A., & Heath, G.W. (2012). Physical activity epidemiology (2nd ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
Donatelle, R.J. (2013). Health: the basics-green edition (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Pearson Benjamin Cummings.
Garrett, B. (2011). Brain & behavior: An introduction to biological psychology (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc.
Insel, P.M., & Roth, W.T. (2010). Core concepts in health (11th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Companies.
James, W. (1899). Talks to teachers on psychology: And to students on some of the life’s ideals. New York: Holt.
Kandal, E.R. (1998). A new intellectual framework for psychiatry. American Journal of Psychiatry, 155(4): 457-469.
McLeod, S. A. (2009). Jean Piaget. Retrieved from http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html.
Petruzzello, S.J., and Landers, D.M. (1994). State anxiety reduction and exercise: Does hemispheric activation reflect such changes? Medicine and Science in Sports and
Exercise, 26(8): 1028-1035.
Petruzzello, S.J., Landers, D.M., Hatfield, B.D., Kubitz, K.A., and Salazar, W. (1991). A meta-analysis on the anxiety reducing the effects of acute and chronic exercise:
Outcomes and mechanisms. Sports Medicine, 11(3): 143-182.
Piaget, J., & Cook, M. T. (1952). The origins of intelligence in children.
Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. AMC, 10, 12.
Raglin, J.S., and Wilson, M. (1996). State anxiety following 20 minutes of bicycle ergometer exercise at selected intensities. International Journal of Sports Medicine 17:467-471.