In this episode, Dr. Joe Tatta discusses the recent policy changes by the American Physical Therapy Association regarding the role of physical therapists in behavioral and mental health. He emphasizes the importance of this policy in legitimizing the role of physical therapists in addressing mental health issues, moving from mere acknowledgment to active inclusion in practice. The discussion covers the historical context of these policies, the implications for physical therapy education and practice, and the ethical responsibilities that come with this expanded scope. Dr. Tatta highlights the need for competence and the importance of viewing physical therapists as whole health clinicians capable of integrating mental health into their practice.

Watch the Episode Here:

Listen to the Podcast Here

Subscribe: iTunes | Android | RSS

—

APTA Expands PT Mental Health Role 

Today, I want to raise awareness around something that has quietly—but profoundly—changed the future of physical therapy. It is something that the APTA has made public, yet hasn’t necessarily been promoted widely, which is why I wanted to discuss it on todays episode 

In late 2025, the American Physical Therapy Association released a new policy on the role of the physical therapist in behavioral and mental health. And while it might look subtle at first glance, I believe it is one of the most important policy shifts we’ve seen in decades for the profession of physical therapy.  

This isn’t just a wording update. 

This is an actual acknowledgment and recommitment to what physical therapists may do, what they are expected to do, and ethically positions us to play a larger role in mental and behavioral health care. 

What the Old Policy Said about Mental Health  

Let’s ground this conversation in some history. 

Back in 2020, the APTA House of Delegates – which develops and votes on policies related to issues that may have far-reaching implications for the profession. In 2020 the APTA HOD passed a position statement that acknowledged and supported the physical therapist’s role in mental health care. 

The specific language in that 2020 position statement, “It is within the professional scope of physical therapist practice to screen for and address mental and behavioural health.”  

That mattered.
Acknowledgment legitimizes presence. 

But acknowledgment is not enough. 

The 2020 language positioned mental health as something PTs could participate in—but largely adjacent to their core practice. The word address was confusing or unclear to many physical therapists. Address isn’t a word that most physical therapists use in clinical practice. It left ambiguity around screening, intervention, and independent clinical reasoning. 

In short:
You could care, but it wasn’t clear how far you could act.  

What the New Policy Says—and Why It Matters 

Now let’s look at today. Let’s look at what changed. 

The new policy explicitly states: “Physical therapist services include the prevention and management of behavioral and mental health conditions, addressing the interconnected physical, psychological, and social health domains to ensure whole-person care.” 

That sentence alone is enormous. 

Here’s why. 

First, the policy moves from acknowledgment to inclusion.
Mental and behavioral health are no longer peripheral—they are explicitly inside the professional scope of physical therapist services. 

Second, it recognizes independent clinical responsibility, not just collaboration by default. Yes, interprofessional collaboration is named as the standard of care—but collaboration does not imply dependence. 

This means physical therapists are not merely identifying mental health issues and handing them off. We are expected to manage behavioral and mental health conditions—within our scope—using our own clinical judgment. 

Third, the policy formally adopts a whole-person framework. Physical, psychological, and social domains are treated as interconnected—not hierarchical. 

That is a fundamental philosophical shift for the profession. 

Why This Expands What’s Possible for PTs in Mental Health 

The good news is that policy expands what’s possible in three concrete ways. 

One: It legitimizes independent screening for conditions like depression, anxiety, trauma exposure, and stress-related behavioral patterns—without requiring automatic referral as the endpoint. 

Two: It supports intervention. That includes education, cognitive-behavioral therapy, lifestyle-interventions, psychologically-informed care, technology supported applications approaches that are already evidence-based in PT. 

Three: It protects physical therapists who are practicing at this intersection from being told they are “out of scope” simply because mental health is involved. 

This matters clinically.
It matters legally.
And it matters culturally. 

Because ambiguity breeds fear—and fear limits care.  

What This Means for the Physical Therapy Profession  

This policy aligns physical therapy with where the science has been for years. 

Chronic pain.
Persistent disability.
Trauma-informed care.
Stress-related conditions. 

These are not purely biomechanical problems. 

They never were. 

This policy also places responsibility on us. If mental and behavioral health are within our services, then competence matters. DPT education matters. Lifelong learning matters. Ethical boundaries matter. 

Scope expansion is not permission to practice poorly—it’s a call for us to practice better. 

The PTs Role in APTA Mental Health Role 

Here’s the bottom line. 

This policy doesn’t turn physical therapists into psychologists.
It doesn’t erase the value of other professions. 

What it does is affirm something essential: 

That physical therapists are whole-person clinicians, capable of addressing behavioral and mental health as an integrated part of health and disability. We do that by considering interactions between a person’s health condition and contextual factors, focusing on body functions/structures, activities, and participation, rather than just a disease or diagnosis 

This isn’t the future of physical therapy. 

It’s the present—finally written down and adopted.  

Behavioral and mental health are within the physical therapist’s scope of practice.  

Links Related to Mental Health Physical Therapy

Mental Health Physical Therapist Certification Program

Psychologically-Informed Pain Practitioner Certification Program

Dr. Joe Tatta is a leader in integrative pain care, championing the cause for safe and effective chronic pain treatment. He serves as the CEO of the Integrative Pain Science Institute, a groundbreaking health organization dedicated to transforming pain care. He is also an adjunct professor in the Arcadia University DPT program. With a career spanning over 25 years, Dr. Tatta has been unwavering in his support for individuals suffering from pain, while also equipping healthcare professionals to enhance their pain management capabilities. He has published 12 peer-reviewed articles and authored 3 books including the textbook Integrative and Lifestyle Medicine in Physical Therapy: A Guide to Primary Care, Health Promotion, and Prevention. His professional accomplishments extend to the creation of scalable practice models grounded in health behavior change and innovative approaches empowering physical therapists to assume the role of primary healthcare providers. He is passionate about implementation science and strategies that facilitate the uptake of evidence-based practice into regular use by practitioners and stakeholders. The culmination of his work is PRISM: Pain Recovery and Integrative Systems Model and Pain Resilience Therapy. Learn more at: integrativepainscienceinstitute.com