The importance of mental health in sport is increasingly recognised and understood. This rapid evidence guide has been designed to help sporting teams and bodies make informed choices about the scientific evidence for programs that are designed to promote mental health or to respond to mental health symptoms. The purpose of the guide is to highlight programs that can be used at the ‘whole of club/team’ or sport levels (rather than the individual athlete level) to lead to mental health benefits.
Responding to mental health in sport - like other areas of health – should be based on the best-available evidence, to maximise the efficient use of limited resources. This guide systematically searched all the available literature to provide the most comprehensive review of programs that (i) promote mental health, (ii) prevent mental ill-health or (iii) provide early intervention for mental health symptoms in groups of athletes from the community through to elite and professional sports levels.
This evidence guide should assist sporting teams to adopt best-practices in mental health and ultimately lead to better mental health outcomes for athletes and teams.