Sports therapy — also referred to as exercise therapy or therapeutic physical activity — is a clinical approach that uses structured physical exercise as a therapeutic intervention, integrated into a broader psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatment plan.
The relationship between physical activity and mental health is one of the most robustly supported areas in contemporary psychiatry. Exercise produces measurable changes in neurobiological systems directly implicated in depression, anxiety, and cognitive function — including monoamine neurotransmission, hippocampal neurogenesis, HPA axis regulation, and inflammatory markers. These are not lifestyle recommendations — they are direct pharmacological-equivalent changes in the same biological pathways that psychiatric medications target.
For major depression, structured exercise produces antidepressant effects of moderate-to-large magnitude — comparable to pharmacotherapy in mild-to-moderate presentations and significantly additive when combined with medication in more severe cases.
For anxiety disorders, exercise reduces both state and trait anxiety through multiple mechanisms, including physiological arousal reduction and changes in threat appraisal.
For ADHD, structured physical activity improves attention, impulse control, and executive function — both acutely following exercise and as a sustained effect with regular practice.
For schizophrenia and serious mental illness, exercise improves negative symptoms, cognitive function, quality of life, and metabolic health — the last being particularly important given the metabolic side effects of many antipsychotic medications.
Sports therapy is delivered by qualified specialists in cooperation with the clinical team. The physical activity programme is tailored to the individual patient's clinical needs, physical capacity, current presentation, and preferences.
Sessions may take place in a park or natural outdoor setting in Tel Aviv, in appropriate sports facilities, or by the sea — selected to maximise the therapeutic benefit of the physical and environmental experience. The outdoor and natural setting is not incidental: contact with natural environments produces measurable reductions in physiological stress markers and contributes independently to the therapeutic effect.
Sports therapy at IsraClinic may involve aerobic exercise — walking, running, or cycling; strength training where clinically appropriate; structured group activities where the social and motivational dimension is therapeutically relevant; and mindful movement practices that integrate physical activity with attentional and self-regulatory skills.
Type, frequency, intensity, and format are specified in the patient's individual treatment plan and adjusted as the clinical picture evolves.
Sports therapy at IsraClinic also incorporates elements of the Feldenkrais Method — a somatic movement practice developed by Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais that uses gentle, mindful movement to improve awareness of movement patterns, reduce chronic tension, and restore ease and efficiency of physical functioning. The Feldenkrais Method is particularly effective as a complement to sports therapy for patients with chronic pain, neurological presentations, and conditions where rigid or effortful movement patterns are contributing to physical and psychological difficulties.
Sports therapy is used as a component of treatment for depression — directly targeting the neurobiological mechanisms underlying low mood and anhedonia; anxiety disorders — reducing physiological arousal and supporting interoceptive tolerance; ADHD — improving attention, impulse regulation, and executive function; serious mental illness — addressing negative symptoms and metabolic health; stress-related conditions and burnout — regulating the HPA axis and autonomic nervous system; and chronic conditions where physical and psychological health are interconnected.
Sports therapy is also an important treatment engagement tool — particularly for patients with depression or negative symptoms, where the initiation of activity is itself therapeutically significant.
Sports therapy is indicated when physical activity is a clinically appropriate and safe component of the patient's treatment, and when the neurobiological, psychological, and social benefits of structured exercise are clinically relevant to the presenting difficulties.
A physical health assessment is conducted before sports therapy is initiated to ensure the programme is appropriate for the patient's physical condition.
IsraClinic accepts patients for in-person treatment in Tel Aviv, in English, Russian and Hebrew. No referral is required.
Lead Therapist: Alex Kravitz — Sports Therapy & Feldenkrais Specialist | IsraClinic | Last reviewed: 2026
Physical activity is one of the most evidence-based tools in psychiatric treatment — yet it is often underused. Our team is available in English, Russian and Hebrew to discuss whether sports therapy is right for your plan.