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Article Review: Inter-association recommendations for a plan to recognize and refer student-athletes with psychological concerns at the secondary school level: A consensus statement by Neal et al. (2015)

The increasing prevalence in the severity, percentage, and types of mental illnesses in adolescents and young adults aged between 18 and 25 is currently alarming. This paper reflects about the challenges and opportunities with interaction of psychological health service within an athletics organization as contained in the article entitled Inter-association recommendations for a plan to recognize and refer student-athletes with psychological concerns at the secondary school level: A consensus statement by Neal et al. (2015).   

There are a number of challenges that student-athlete face. It has been the case that in their attempt to uphold their competitive advantage, athletics organizations and universities opt to recruit increasingly younger players (Jonas et al., 2013). This has been shown to affect secondary and organizational coaches, the young athletes’ families, and student-athletes since most of the young players are emotionally affected  (Anderson et al., 2002) and have been shown to experience sleep disturbances, mood disturbances, appetite loss, short tempers and reduced interest in competition and training (Baillie & Danish, 1992). Mood loss in the players can equally be associated with overtraining as a result of pressure to win, adoption of professional techniques of training, and competition for scholarships linked with athletic. Generally, stressors and demands on student-athlete can be mental, physical, and academic, all of which put several anticipations upon student-athlete.

While students face a lot of pressure, Neal et al. (2015) highlights some opportunities that should be taken into consideration to ensure that student-athlete players are not affected by the triggers and stressors. First, team physicians and athletic trainers (ATs) are well positioned to constantly and daily observe as well as interact with their student-athletes. Despite their availability, Neal et al. (2015) note that some student-athletes are uninformed regarding how a stressor or trigger affect them regardless of whether they are informed of potential mental concerns that may affect them. Through such daily interactions, ATs and team physicians may be able to help their student-athletes to identify circumstances that may influence their mental health, an opportunity that can work best for the students. Another opportunity available, according to Neal et al. (2015), is that there should be referral of student-athletes for mental evaluation as well as care. The article reasons that having a team (ATs, team physician, campus counselling service just to mention) to handle student-athletes’ psychological concerns is crucial.

Similarly, there is a need to conduct pre-participation assessments regarding mental health issues. During such times, the professionals have maximum time to ask their student-athlete regarding their past mental health concerns. Any affirmative response ought to be brought to the awareness of the ATs and team physicians for further discussion and suggestions of possible ways of addressing the concerns. Other opportunities include approaching student-athlete learners who have potential mental concerns and routine referral for psychological health assessment.