What facilitates collegiate athletes seeking mental health care? Athletic trainers’ perceptions

Supporting the mental health of postsecondary student-athletes: Implications from literature for the Canadian context.

“…Student-athletes may also be more likely to follow through with seeking mental health interventions if referrals come from a sport-specific workshop, coaches, teammates, or athletic trainers (Donohue et al, 2021). In interviews with athletic trainers, they believed their role to be the most influential in athlete’s psychological help-seeking (Harker & Petrie, 2023). Furthermore, the athletic trainers noted that when coaches, teammates, and athletic trainers hold positive attitudes and beliefs about mental health, athletes feel more supported and willing to seek support when needed (Harker & Petrie, 2023).…”

“…In interviews with athletic trainers, they believed their role to be the most influential in athlete’s psychological help-seeking (Harker & Petrie, 2023). Furthermore, the athletic trainers noted that when coaches, teammates, and athletic trainers hold positive attitudes and beliefs about mental health, athletes feel more supported and willing to seek support when needed (Harker & Petrie, 2023). However, Wahto et al (2016) found that student-athletes who were encouraged to seek mental health support by a family member were more willing to access these resources than if referred by another source.…”

“…Educational programming that is tailored specifically to student-athletes may be helpful to reduce stigma, improve mental health literacy, and encourage help-seeking behaviours (Giovannetti et al, 2019; Hilliard et al, 2022). As both athletic trainers and coaches have been identified as important facilitators for help-seeking behaviours amongst student-athletes, it is recommended that these individuals receive ongoing education and training around early identification for mental health concerns, supporting athletes, and making appropriate referrals (Harker & Petrie, 2023; Harris & Maher, 2022). Furthermore, coaches could receive education about the importance of talking about mental health, engaging in empathetic listening, what resources are available on campus for student-athletes, and specific high-risk periods for athletes (Harris & Maher, 2022).…”