The Role of Coaches, Institutions, and Clinicians in Addressing Athlete Mental Health

Mental health, defined by the World Health Organization as “a state of wellbeing in which every individual realizes his or her own potential, can cope with normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a contribution to her or his community,” is an important concern for athletes. In 2018, research findings showed that the prevalence of mental health symptoms and disorders among current elite athletes ranged from 19% for alcohol misuse to 34% for anxiety/depression, and from 16% for distress to 26% for anxiety/depression for former elite athletes.2 Research suggests that while athletes have overall better physical health than their non-athlete counterparts, they experience similar rates of mental health symptoms and disorders.https://digitalcommons.library.tru.ca/emergingdiscourses/1001/thumbnail.jp

Mental health in golf

Elements of epidemiology related to mental health symptoms and disorders amongst elite golfers will be examined, along with their risk factors. The need for future rigorous research pertaining to mental health and well-being amongst golfers will be discussed, alongside suggestions for strategies that can prevent and address mental health symptoms and disorders in golfers. This chapter concludes with practical applications, rooted mostly in mental health literacy, for golfers, coaches, and parents. However, for elite golfers specifically, limited information is presently known regarding the prevalence of psychological distress and poor mental health. Most quantitative research that has explored the mental health of elite golfers also involved athletes from other individual and team sports within the sample, and therefore any findings must be inferred. Thus, any support mechanisms offered through a mental health literacy strategy would be informed by the mental health needs of the elite golfers

Interprofessional collaboration in college athlete mental health care: addressing the need for a competency-based framework of integrated care

College athletes are susceptible to mental health symptoms and disorders. Many athletes lack knowledge of mental health symptoms, have negative views of mental health and help seeking, and have limited confidence in being able to access professional mental health support. Unfortunately, many athletes will not seek the mental health support they need. With a need to provide mental health support across college sports, strategies are needed to harness the professional competencies of everyone in the arena. This requires the need for integrative approaches that promote interprofessional coordination and collaboration for mental health education and practice. Drawing on the professional experience of sport social workers and practitioner sport psychologists, the Competency-Based Interprofessional Educational framework designed by the Interprofessional Education Collaborative was adapted to address college athlete mental health needs. The framework identifies four key competencies to help establish and promote coordinated training opportunities and efficient and effective mental health care amongst an interprofessional care team: 1) understanding of the values and ethics of different members with respect to professional cultures, training, and expertise; 2) clearly defined roles and responsibilities of different members delineated by scopes of practice, including limitations in care provisions; 3) interprofessional communication that enhances mental health service availability and access; and 4) continual team development that evolves with the exploration of contemporary challenges faced by athletes. Competency-based interprofessional approaches to mental health care in sport are emerging in the United States and the United Kingdom with future research exploring strategies to strength interprofessional service provisions

LGBTQI+ mental health in elite sport: a review

No abstract available

Mental health in elite athletes: International Olympic Committee consensus statement (2019)

Mental health symptoms and disorders are common among elite athletes, may have sport related manifestations within this population and impair performance. Mental health cannot be separated from physical health, as evidenced by mental health symptoms and disorders increasing the risk of physical injury and delaying subsequent recovery. There are no evidence or consensus based guidelines for diagnosis and management of mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes. Diagnosis must differentiate character traits particular to elite athletes from psychosocial maladaptations. Management strategies should address all contributors to mental health symptoms and consider biopsychosocial factors relevant to athletes to maximise benefit and minimise harm. Management must involve both treatment of affected individual athletes and optimising environments in which all elite athletes train and compete. To advance a more standardised, evidence based approach to mental health symptoms and disorders in elite athletes, an International Olympic Committee Consensus Work Group critically evaluated the current state of science and provided recommendations

Mental health literacy in sport: the role of the social work profession

Issue Section: Commentary. Jorm and colleagues (1997) define mental health literacy as “knowledge and beliefs about mental disorders, which aid their recognition, management, and prevention” (p. 182). In essence, mental health literacy has three main areas of concentration: (1) knowledge of mental health symptoms and disorders and strategies of self-care, (2) strategies to address public and self-stigma, and (3) pathways to improve help-seeking behaviors (Gorczynski et al., 2021; Jorm et al., 1997). Over the years, mental health literacy, like the concept of health literacy, has evolved. For much of the 20th century, mental health literacy was very reactive and solely focused on basic literacy skills, as individuals were taught to read and understand simple diagnostic information about various mental health symptoms and disorders and know where to go to access help (Gorczynski et al., 2021). Since then, mental health literacy has become proactive, as individuals are not only taught about basic diagnostic information, but also instructed on how to develop social and cognitive skills necessary to address the various determinants of mental health and advocate for change within their communities (Gorczynski et al., 2021)

Loneliness and emotional blunting in elite sport

Loneliness is an emotional state, where an individual feels dissatisfied that their social needs are not being addressed through desired quantities or qualities of social interactions. Emotional blunting is a reduced ability to feel positive and negative emotions as well as an overall reduction in feeling a range of emotions. Emotional blunting may occur in the form of feelings of detachment, be they from oneself, from others, or from things and activities. Loneliness and emotional blunting are symptoms that are associated with physical, mental, and social health needs that impact the quality of life of the athlete and their performance. Limited data exists for both types of symptoms, and epidemiological evidence is needed to help create evidence-based resources and treatment options within in elite sport

Psychosocial aspects of mental health in sport

On completion of this chapter, the reader should have the following: Ability to describe mental health, well-being, and common mental health symptoms and disorders in sport. Familiarity with the epidemiology of mental health symptoms and disorders in sport. Understanding of socioecological factors that contribute to mental health symptoms and disorders in sport

LGBTQ+ mental health in elite sport: A review

Within elite sport, very little is known about the mental health symptoms and disorders of LGBTQ+ identifying athletes, their experiences with accessing treatment, or their journeys through recovery. Individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ are more likely to experience mental health symptoms and disorders, and non-accidental violence, compared to others. Mental health researchers and providers who work with LGBTQ+ identifying elite athletes are in positions to improve knowledge and pathways to mental health services, address and minimize barriers to mental health services, and enhance mental health service delivery