Fostering the Mental Health of Athletes, Coaches, and Staff

Book excerpt: This book describes a systems approach for fostering the mental health of athletes, coaches, and staff in sport organizations at professional, collegiate, and secondary school levels. Through this approach, readers can collaborate effectively with a range of professionals in sport organizations, helping to create a mentally healthy entity. Fostering the Mental Health of Athletes, Coaches, and Staff includes a set of sequential, interrelated chapters that detail precise steps along with practitioner exercises. Following an introductory chapter about the evolution of mental health in sport organizations, the systems approach is overviewed in terms of its constituent dimensions. Chapter-by-chapter guidance then is provided about the following activities: Creating a vision and direction for mental health in a sport organization Assessing the readiness of a sport organization for mental health initiatives Identifying and involving people as key contributors to mental health Assessing the mental and emotional development of athletes, coaches, and staff Designing and implementing mental health programs and services Educating and training coaches, staff, and administrators about mental health Establishing a team environment conducive to mental health Formulating and enacting mental health policies, plans, and procedures Coordinating mental skills, life skills, and mental health Evaluating mental health programs and services Making decisions about improving mental health initiatives Through its unique and important nature and scope, as well as being the first of its kind to discuss athlete mental health through this specific lens, this book is essential for licensed sport, clinical, and counseling psychologists, as well as other professionals who communicate and collaborate regarding mental health, including mental performance consultants, athletic trainers, and administrators.