{"id":1394,"date":"2025-05-22T15:40:24","date_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/?p=1394"},"modified":"2025-05-22T15:40:25","modified_gmt":"2025-05-22T15:40:25","slug":"five-practical-steps-to-foster-a-positive-mental-health-culture-on-your-team","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/2025\/05\/22\/five-practical-steps-to-foster-a-positive-mental-health-culture-on-your-team\/","title":{"rendered":"Five Practical Steps to Foster a Positive Mental Health Culture on Your Team\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Coaches play a crucial role in shaping a team\u2019s mental health culture. However, determining how to effectively foster an environment where student-athletes feel safe seeking support can be a daunting task. Here are five practical steps that every coach can take to create a culture where student-athletes feel valued, supported, and empowered to seek assistance when needed:&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Invite On-Campus Mental Health Professionals to Team Meetings: <\/strong>These experts can lead impactful conversations about mental health and guide student-athletes on where to turn if they or someone they know is struggling. \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"2\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Make Mental Health a Regular Part of Team Conversations: <\/strong>Consistently discussing mental health with the team demonstrates that it is a priority and helps create an environment where student-athletes feel supported. Start with a team conversation focused on the <a href=\"https:\/\/totalwellness.nfl.com\/wellness-resources\/mental-health-continuum\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">mental health continuum<\/a>, ensuring that student-athletes understand where they sit and when it might be time to seek support.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"3\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Learn More about Common Mental Health Challenges: <\/strong>Take time to understand the symptoms of common mental health challenges and how they might manifest in student-athletes. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.naia.org\/student-athlete-wellness-center\/mental-health\/files\/NAIA_Mental_Health_Toolkit.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">NAIA\u2019s Mental Health Toolkit<\/a> is a helpful resource to begin learning about depression, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, and more.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"4\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Approach Every Conversation with Empathy: <\/strong>When you notice a student-athlete struggling, choose a comfortable setting to have a private discussion. Start the conversation by saying:\u00a0 \u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cI&#8217;ve noticed you seem a bit down lately. Is everything okay?\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cI know you\u2019ve got a lot on your plate\u2014can I do anything to support you?\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>\u201cI\u2019ve noticed you don\u2019t seem as engaged at practice lately. Is something going on?\u201d\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"5\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Use Support Services When Needed: <\/strong>Recognize when a student-athlete&#8217;s needs exceed your expertise and refer them to the appropriate campus or community resources for additional assistance.\u00a0\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>If you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline. Visit <a href=\"https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">https:\/\/988lifeline.org\/<\/a> for additional support and resources.\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Coaches play a crucial role in shaping a team\u2019s mental health culture. However, determining how to effectively foster an environment where student-athletes feel safe seeking support can be a daunting task. Here are five practical steps that every coach can take to create a culture where student-athletes feel valued, supported, and empowered to seek assistance [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":1395,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[191,63],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1394","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-featured","category-student-athlete-experience","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/five-practical-steps-to-foster-a-positive-mental-health-culture-on-your-team--600x400.png","featured_image_src_square":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/five-practical-steps-to-foster-a-positive-mental-health-culture-on-your-team--600x600.png","author_info":{"display_name":"Ally Hecht","author_link":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/author\/ahecht\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/five-practical-steps-to-foster-a-positive-mental-health-culture-on-your-team-.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p8ueXi-mu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1394","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1394"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1394\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1394"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1394"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.naia.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1394"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}