Mental Health In Sports

Question 1

Mental health statistics

Answer 1

• In any given year, 1 in 5 individuals in Canada personally experiences a mental health problem or illness
• Only 1 out of 5 youth who need mental health services actually receives them
• Student athletes are less likely to engage in help-seeking behaviour
• 56% of people polled believe mental health and mental illness mean the same thing
• 70% coaches who believe they should support mental health but do not feel they have the skills to do this

Question 2

Mental health in sports in Canada
- Increased discussion at all levels
- Sport specific risk factors

Answer 2

• Difficult to determine if athlete is
  experiencing mental illness or adapting to demands of elite sport
• Athlete support team, including SPP, play a critical role in supporting athlete mental health

Question 3

Sport related factors

Answer 3

• sport related strain and injuries
• performance culture and failure
• lack of healthy relationships
• substances
• type of sport
• maltreatment in sport
  -extended travel
• retirement/identity
• stigma
• mental health literacy

Question 4

CCMHS position statement
- practitioners and competencies
- 6 key principles

Answer 4

1. Athletes experience mental health challenges and mental illness
2. Sport organizations have a duty to protect
3. Coaches have a duty to foster athlete mental health
4. Athletes seeking care are best served by an interdisciplinary care team
5. Athlete support teams must include someone with clinical training
6. Mental health professionals should develop sport specific competencies

Question 5

Mental triad
- Mental performance
- Mental health
- Mental illness

Answer 5

MP “is a capability with which individuals use skills to perform in their ever-changing environment”

MH “a state of psychological, emotional, and social well-being”

MI “a health condition characterized by
alterations in individuals’ feeling, thinking, and behaving that lead to significant distress and impaired functioning in their personal and professional activities”

Question 6

Mental triad quote

Answer 6

“ONE CAN ARGUE THAT OPTIMAL
FUNCTIONING IS CHARACTERIZED BY A STATE OF COMPLETE MENTAL HEALTH WHEREBY INDIVIDUALS ARE FLOURISHING WITHOUT A MENTAL ILLNESS. HOWEVER, WHILE THIS IS AN IDEAL STATE, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT PEOPLE WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS CANNOT REACH OPTIMAL LEVELS OF FUNCTIONING AND THE HIGHEST LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE IN SPORT”

Question 7

What can we do
- prevention
- treatment

Answer 7

Prevention
* Mental health literacy
* Screening tools
* Referral process
* Adapt coaching practices
* Mental Performance training

Treatment
▪ Tailored to the person
▪ Psychotherapy, support groups
▪ Medication if needed
▪ Complimentary therapies
▪ Mental Performance training (in
tandem)