As attendees learned the latest in athletic training professional development, NATA hosted two national media briefings during the 76th NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo June 24-27 in Orlando, showcasing the expertise of members in the health care landscape.
The Spring/Summer Sports Medicine Legal Digest features a Q&A with NATA Mental Health America liaison Timothy Neal, LLMSW, ATC, CCISM, about mental health, substance abuse and the AT’s responsibility. The following is a continuation of this Q&A.
Q. What's the best way to start a discussion with an athlete that an AT suspects as a mental health or substance abuse issue?
Editor’s note: In April 2016, NATA Now ran a column by Timothy Neal, LLMSW, ATC, CCISM, titled “Burnout in Athletes,” kicking off a series of mental health-related columns that were posted throughout May in honor of Mental Health Month. To this day, it remains the most visited post on NATA Now and is one of the top 25 pages viewed on www.nata.org.
By Erik R. Brown, DHSc, LAT, ATC, and Matthew Powless, PhD, HSPP
College student athletes already have plenty of things on their plate. Because of their juggling act, they are prone to mental health issues. The changing climate of college athletics has been fluid since 2020 as mental health issues became more paramount with the COVID-19 pandemic and, more recently, name, image and likeness (NIL) and the transfer portal. These issues have added another layer of additional stressors – good and bad.
To assist NATA members with critical incidents, the creation of the ATs Care Program was approved by the NATA Board of Directors in 2015.
The next NATA Timely Topics Series is at 11 a.m. CDT Oct. 12. This month’s series, which is hosted by NATA President Kathy Dieringer, EdD, LAT, ATC, includes one event: “The AT and Mental Health, Fueled by Gatorade Performance Partner” presented by Bhrett McCabe, PhD. The event is free for NATA members and $45 for nonmembers.
McCabe will cover mental health tips for athletic trainers as well as their athletes.
The 2021 NATA Virtual Clinical Symposia & AT Expo is far from over. The on-demand educational programming is available to attendees through Sept. 30, providing an extended time for athletic trainers to learn and earn CEUs.
The VNATA 2021 platform allows users to search and filter on-demand content to ensure an easier approach to finding the sessions they’re looking for. Over the next few weeks, NATA will highlight VNATA 2021 sessions that cover some trending topics in athletic training.
Mental health is essential to everyone’s overall health and well-being. All people, including athletic trainers, face challenges in life that can impact their mental health, especially during a pandemic; and prevention is an effective way to reduce the burden of mental health conditions.