Presentation delivered by LPP at the Sport Minds event on 6 October 2015. The presentation focuses on sport coaches and support staff and their role in mental health.

1. Winning Minds: A Practical
Mental Health Workshop to
Help Coaches and Support
Staff Involved in Sport
Sport Minds Conference -
06/10/2015

2. This Workshop
Charter
How to support
coaches/support staff
Organisational action
plans
To cope with managing
such aspects
Helping coaches/
support staff to
- Identify mental health
difficulties in players
- Support these players
- Assist these players to
access professional
support

3. Part 1
Helping coaches/support staff to
support players

4. Continuum
Mental Health Difficulties

5. Role Play 1
Spot the difficulties!
DE and TR role play a coach/support staff
member interacting with a rugby player

6. Depression (ICD-10) (WHO, 2015)
includes:
 Depressed mood,
 Loss of interest or pleasure,
 Sleep, appetite and energy
difficulties,
 Thoughts of death,
 Clinically significant distress or
impairment in social, occupational
or other important areas of
functioning.
Mood

7. Case Scenario 1
Sam (pseudonym) is a 24 year old, male, cricket player.
He worries that the other players in the squad don’t like
him. He is very conscious of what he is saying to them.
If he feels that he has said something, which might have
upset another player/others players he will think about
this for an extended period of time, his heart rate will
increase, his hands will become sweaty, he will get a
headache and a pain in his stomach. This pattern of
thinking and physiological symptoms will only dissipate
when he gets to a point when he feels that what he said
couldn’t have and didn't upset the other player/s, and
this is confirmed by the other squad member/s.

8. Anxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (ICD-10)
(WHO, 2015) includes:
 General and persistent anxiety,
 Physical and psychological
symptoms,
 Fear that something will happen to
self or others,
 Clinically significant distress or
impairment in social, occupational
or other important areas of
functioning.

9. Case Scenario 2
Julie (pseudonym) is a 26 year old, female, tennis
player. She has persistent worry that the taps in her
house are not switched off and that she needs to check
that they are completely switched off or they will flood
the house. When she wakes up in the morning, Julie
goes around checking that every tap is closed. She
does the same thing when she leaves the house to go to
training. During her training she will be thinking about
whether she completely closed the taps in the kitchen.
This pattern of thinking affects her practice session. On
the way home in the car Julie is constantly thinking
about checking the taps when she gets home. She gets
home and checks the kitchen taps, which she had
switched off completely and then feels better.

10. Anxiety continued.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (ICD-10)
(WHO, 2015) includes:
 Obsessive thoughts,
 Compulsive acts,
 Anxiety is typically present,
 Clinically significant distress or
impairment in social, occupational
or other important areas of functioning.

11. Depression Staying Anxiety
Present
Depression and Anxiety link

12. Role Play 2
Spot the interactions!
DE and TR role play the coach/support staff member
interacting with the rugby player, from role play 1, focusing
on ways of interacting and how/where to access support

13. Person-centered principles (Rogers, 1986) include:
1) Empathy,
2) Warmth,
3) Genuineness,
4) Unconditional positive regard.
Ways of Interacting

14. Interaction Skills
Choose an appropriate setting and
time,
Maintain rapport (e.g. be aware
of body language, eye contact
and tone of voice),
Type of questions (e.g. open vs
closed questions),
Demonstrate listening (summarize
responses).

15. Where to Access Help From
This will vary depending upon the sport,
club and staff, and could include:
1) Club doctor,
2) Club physiotherapist/sport and exercise
scientist,
3) Club Sport and Exercise Psychologist,
4) Professional Practice,
5) General Practitioner (GP).

16. Part 2
Supporting coaches/support staff who
are helping players
Don’t forget the coaches/support staff!

17. Supporting coaches/support staff
How is it going with supporting the
player?
How are you coping?
Are you accessing support yourself
from those around you and how is
this process going?
If not, how and where can you access
support?

18. Part 3
Charter: Organisational action plans
1) What has gone into your organisational
action plans?
2) What could go into your action plans?
3) How to sign up to the charter if you
haven't already done so?

19. • Send Mind your
action plans
• Send Mind your
case studies
What next?
• World Mental Health Day – 10 October
2015
• Time to Talk Day – Feb 2016
• Charter one-year anniversary – March
2016
sport@mind.org.uk

20. Thank you
Optimising Health
Enhancing Performance

21. LPP Consulting
54 Harley Street,
London, W1G 9PZ
Phone +44 7769922512
Email philip.hopley@lpp.org.uk
Web www.lppconsulting.org