Mental Health Screening For Athletes: Program Development, Implementation, And Evaluation

The mental health of collegiate student-athletes is a growing concern within university athletics. Student-athletes experience a wide array of mental health concerns (e.g., depression, anxiety); however, due to the stigma of mental health and/or lack of available resources, many student-athletes may not seek support on their own. Thus, we describe the mental health screening process we have developed to educate, assess, and follow-up on collegiate student-athletes' psychological well-being. Based on our experiences and best practices from the NCAA and NATA, we conclude by offering recommendations for how mental health screening may be conducted at other colleges and universities.