Study: Student-athletes need help with mental health struggles

By Zoe Del Rosario

A graduate student shared his research on the mental health struggles faced by student-athletes at the Department of Communication Arts’ “Meet the Masters” program Tuesday, April 26.

Drew Minter, who plays baseball for the University of the Incarnate Word, discussed his capstone project -- “An Exploration of Mental Health Challenges Faced by Student-Athletes” – on a stage set up for his PowerPoint in the SEC.

“What I wanted to do is take a look at my mental health struggles and connect it to other student-athletes,” said Minter. “And see how long this has been going on, and what are some of the best ways that student-athletes have been able to overcome them.”

Minter, a righthanded pitcher for the Cardinals from League City, Texas, is graduating Saturday, May 7, with his master’s degree in communication arts. His research focused on the impacts of injuries on student-athletes’ mental well-being and the consequences of steroidal and non-steroidal drug use among student-athletes.

Besides consulting current academic sources on the subject, Minter said he also asked six student-athletes questions regarding their mental health. According to Minter, his responses confirmed the research that the stigma around mental health among male student-athletes is still prevalent today.

“I had research saying that the stigma (about mental health) existed from the social learning theory that males culturally accepted it to disregard their mental health relating in sports and that you were weak if you did have those problems,” Minter said.

The availability of mental health treatment resources at a school and the coaching environment are two factors that play a significant role in whether a student-athlete is receiving appropriate treatment to cope with her or his situation, Minter said.

At UIW, the director of Behavioral Health Services, Dr. Kevin Milligan, said performance anxiety -- where athletes feel incapable of competing -- is one of the most common mental health disorders among student-athletes he treats.

Milligan said awareness about mental health struggles needs to start within the inner circle of a student-athlete with their coaches, trainers, and other athletes on the team.

“I think (it’s important) getting coaches, team captains, specifically, trained in suicide awareness and mental health awareness to be the voice for their teammates, the voice for their players,” Milligan said.

Training coaches and players is just the first step, Milligan said. The athletic administration also needs to be aware of student-athletes’ mental health struggles, he stressed.

“The more inclusive that the coaches, the athletic directors, and just the highest level of athletic administration are -- and the more they communicate that to the student-athletes – the more buy-in we’ll get. The more that stigma will be destigmatized.”

UIW’s Behavioral Health Services has six licensed professionals and four to six interns available to see student-athletes during business hours, Milligan said.

UIW Athletics also hosts a program called Life Skills to help student-athletes cope with life situations, the transition from being an athlete, and other aspects. In addition, Milligan said Behavioral Health Services is collaborating with the sports medicine team to hold sessions to discuss mental health challenges within the team or among individual players.

Minter suggested this for student-athletes struggling with mental health issues: “You have to find one person with whom you can talk about these things because if not, if you bottle up those feelings and emotions, they’re just going to eat at you. Ultimately, you’re not going to be OK in the long run.”

Read story at UIW's student newspaper, the Logos.