Helping Support Student-Athlete Mental Health

Student-athletes are a key constituent group for student affairs and student health services. On many campuses, student-athletes make up a substantial percentage of students, and their behaviors and their success as students can have a powerful impact on the reputation of your college or university. Athletics, student affairs and student health services can be effective partners in changing the culture of our college campuses and in keeping student-athletes healthy and performing at their best on and off
the playing field. Successful partnerships require an understanding of the unique risk factors experienced by student-athletes. They also requires establishing a strong and trusting relationship between campus health and counseling services, the athletic department, and the sports medicine department. In this document, educational approaches for working with athletics staff and student-athletes are outlined, and athlete-specific information is provided for a series of mental health and safety issues.