What do I do now? Mental Health Referral

Check out www.supportforsport.org  

Here's some information from the site.

The acronym “REFER” can be a guide for the mental health referral process.

• Recognize - what’s going on in this situation ?
• Extend knowledge - learn more
• Facilitate a conversation - start talking
• Evaluate the experience - how did things go?
• Revise and revisit - continue the conversation with follow up as needed

Mental health issues often come to light in the course of a psychology class whether related to self, friends, teammates, or family.  Students understand that they are not mental health professionals and they can help by making a referral, but how do you really initiate the referral conversation?

The NCAA has funded research and programs to support mental health for athletes and this interactive website demonstrates several real life situations and possible outcomes.  It typically takes students about 20 minutes to go through the site, and efficacy for making a referral is increased. Probably the most useful sections of the site are the two below, which come up as you enter the site.  "What would you do?" follows several steps and conversations between two athletes.

For a variety of different situations, have a look at the these:

There is also some basic information and links to professional organizations for more information on other parts of the site.The NCAA holds its annual meeting in January, and if this site is helpful to you or your students, your positive feedback is most welcome! Please comment on the blog or email me directly ndiehl@hkis.edu.hk

posted by Nancy Diehl

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