Athlete mental health in the Olympic/Paralympic quadrennium: a multi-societal consensus statement

ABSTRACT

This consensus statement is the product of the Second International Think Tank on Athlete Mental Health, held on the initiative of the International Society of Sport Psychology. The purposes of the Think Tank were to engage international sport psychology societies and organisations in a discussion about athlete mental health as embedded in an Olympic/Paralympic cycle, and to develop practical recommendations for sport organisations. An invited group of designated experts discussed applied experiences working with athletes within an Olympic and Paralympic environment. The Games and mental health are interrelated, because athletes committing whole-heartedly to an Olympic/Paralympic pursuit are at increased risk of disappointment, identity foreclosure, and high life stress. Dividing the quadrennial into three main phases (i.e., pre-, during-, and post-Games) participants discussed three topics for each phase: (1) the key opportunities and challenges; (2) the sport environment, and how it can nourish or malnourish athlete mental health; and (3) collaboration and communication within expert support teams. Each phase of the quadrennium presents specific challenges and opportunities, and mental health screening and support should be administered across all phases. However, the post-Games period is one of increased vulnerability, while at the same time, the returning staff is oftentimes exhausted and unavailable. Ideally, a specialised collaborative team should handle the post-Games mental health support. Initiatives are needed to (a) improve the psychological safety of pre-, during-, and post-Games high performance environments, (b) reduce unnecessary stress, (c) optimise recovery, (d) de-stigmatize mental health issues, and (e) increase help-seeking.

KEYWORDS:

• Athlete mental health
• sport environments
• responsible elite sport
• Olympic games
• Paralympic games

Acknowledgements

The Think Tank that led to this Consensus Statement was supported by grants from the US Olympic and Paralympic Committee

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

ORCID

Kristoffer Henriksen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-2966-7469

Carsten Hvid Larsen http://orcid.org/0000-0003-3309-9417

Franco Noce http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6751-0871

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Notes

1 We recognise that the intricate relationships between mental health and Olympic and Paralympic Games preparation, performance, and recovery are too complex a topic for any group of experts to grasp in their nuanced entirety during a two-day think tank. We also recognise that, as a result of procedures for selection and invitation, the Think Tank mostly represented organised systems in modernised societies. Future think tanks on the topic will integrate a broader diversity of experts. We acknowledge that this consensus statement reflects the Think Tank participants’ collective dialog based on knowledge available at the time the statement was written.

2 The different represented countries use different titles, including mental performance consultant, sport psychologist, and sport psychology consultant. Fpr simplicity, we here use the title of sport psychology practitioner as a collective name to describe a person who practices sport psychology (i.e. consults with athletes). All participants are registered or licensed within their national systems.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee.