1,358 research outputs found
Enhancing mental health awareness and self-management via mindfulness-based exercises: The State of Mind Ireland (SOMI) programme
No full textTime at university is a period for personal and academic growth, characterised by opportunities for identity development, interpersonal relationship formation, and future career decision making (Arnett, 2016). It can also be a time of stress, brought on by instability and uncertainty due to academic need for achievement, financial hardship, and securing graduate employment (American College Health Association, 2018). Making the transition to university can be a challenging period for young people and is often overlooked in preparing students for new life experiences. Student-athletes who are prone to stress and mental health problems because of co-existing academic, social and sporting demands (Wilson & Pritchard, 2005; Bennet, 2007) are often overlookedwhen it comes to mental health support (Breslin et al., 2021). Therefore, The State of Mind Ireland (SOMI) programme was developed in response to the lack of evidence and theory-based programmes designed to enhance mental health awareness of student-athletes (Breslin et al., 2018a). The aim of this chapter is to share the process we followed in developing, recruiting, delivering, and evaluating a third iteration of the SOMI mental health and awareness programme to student athletes (i.e., Shannon et al., 2019)
Another call to action: critical reflections and the way forward for mental health in sport
No full textWe argue here for another call to action in supporting elite and non-elite athlete’s mental health. Although sport has many protective factors for health and wellbeing, the sport environment or non-supportive climate where a winning at all costs ethos is adopted can prove catastrophic. In each chapter we have highlighted how evidence and theory informed intervention programmes can be helpful in supporting the mental health of those involved in sport. This chapter reflects on the chapters and presents a way forward for mental health in sport and propose a call to action by associations of sport.<br/
Mental health and well-being of men in prison
No full textThis chapter describes the Active Choices Rugby Programme that aimed at enhancing mental well-being of prisoners. It provides an insights into the specific challenges to mental well-being faced by young men in prison, and outlines how sporting interventions can be used to help tackle these challenges. The chapter presents a reflexive account of implementing and evaluating a sporting intervention within the unique prison environment, and analyses researchers and practitioners alike with lessons learned to help shape future research, theory and practice in this field. The Active Choices Rugby Programme was offered within the prison as an intervention designed, in part, to use the context of sport to engage young men within prison to improve their mental well-being. Results revealed that the short duration of the Active Choices Rugby Programme and a lack of opportunity to play rugby upon the programme conclusion within the prison prevented any longer-term maintenance of increased feelings of competence.<br/
Getting started: an overview
No full textThis introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book describes programmes that are intended to explain how to use research, theory and integrate into practice from international experts in the field of sport psychology. The development of mental health and well-being interventions in sport settings remain relatively underdeveloped and often poorly theorised. The book explains about applying psychology to the development of interventions to enhance mental health and well-being of those involved in participating in competitive sport. It focuses on the design process and the content of the interventions, with an emphasis on methodological advances and what has been shown to improve awareness of mental health and well-being. The book discusses mental health awareness programmes for athletes and coaches, and mental health awareness programmes for the public delivered through sport.<br/
‘Stay onside’: exploring the impact of an academically accredited sport-based intervention on psychosocial well-being in prison
No full textThis chapter will focus on benefits and limitations of academically accredited sports-based interventions, with a view to achieving the following: highlighting the challenges involved in delivering sport-based interventions (SBIs) to unique cohorts of prisoners; outlining how academically accredited SBIs can address the limited opportunities provided to these groups; offering a reflexive account of the development, delivery and evaluation of the “Stay Onside: Applied Football Studies” programme; and providing insights into lessons learned from the project, to help shape future research, theory, policy and practice concerning academically accredited SBIs.<br/
Supporting sports officials’ mental health and well-being using the trauma-informed practice developmental model
No full textThis chapter will provide an insight into, and evaluation of, a theory-based mental health intervention with sports officials. Furthermore, we will provide lessons learned and recommendations that researchers and practitioners could consider when designing interventions to support sports officials’ mental health and well-being.<br/
Physical activities to improve children’s health (PATCH): implementing a school-based intervention for children
No full textIn this chapter the authors describe factors important for designing, implementing, and evaluating school-based interventions aimed at increasing physical activity or reducing sedentary behaviour among children in order to improve health. They describe the levels of physical activity being achieved by children living in Northern Ireland in a school setting and provide evidence as to why taking part in physical activity has health benefits. The authors then outline how they conducted a needs assessment to design the ‘Physical Activities to Improve Children's Health’ (PATCH) programme content. They also consider the various psychological theories/models and associated behaviour-change techniques that underpin physical activity interventions, the practical issues to be considered when implementing such interventions, the measurement tools used to evaluate intervention outcomes. Strong scientific evidence confirms that regular participation in physical activity in childhood is associated with enhanced health in both childhood and in later adult life.<br/
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