Author Archive: Stephanie Salazar

U-M rolls out pilot program to offer mental health support to student-athletes

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By Virginia Gordan</strong>

A pilot program to help student-athletes cope with mental health problems is under way at the University of Michigan.

Daniel Eisenberg, associate professor at the U of M School of Public Health, is responsible for evaluating the program’s effectiveness. He said the program aims to educate student-athletes about mental health issues – and to reduce the stigma of getting help.

“We found in our data that it’s about one out of three college students who at any given time are experiencing a significant mental health issue, like a depression or anxiety disorders,” Eisenberg said, adding that only about 10% of student-athletes with these symptoms seek help, compared with 30% of students overall.

Barb Hansen, a counselor in the University’s Athletic Department, said student-athletes can be deterred by fear of negative judgment from their coaches or teammates or by the misguided view that they should tough it out alone. “Our real hope is that mental health issues begin to be talked about like any other injury or illness – that this is just part of what some people experience in life,” she said.

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With NCAA Grant, Michigan Launches Pilot Program to Support Athletes’ Mental Health

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By Jared Anderson

The University of Michigan launched a pilot program last week designed to support the mental health of its student athletes, and a former captain of the swim team has already taken a very visible role.

The program is called Athletes Connected, and aims to help athletes deal with mental health issues while reducing the stigma that sometimes keeps student-athletes from getting help for the struggles they face.

The website, which you can find here, says the program has two major components. First is short videos of athletes sharing their struggles, and encouraging other athletes to seek help for their own mental health issues. Second is a system of drop-in support groups for Michigan Wolverine athletes as an easy, safe place for student-athletes to find help if they need it.

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Mental health promotion featuring former U-M athletes hits home

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By Laurel Thomas Gnagey

A video opens with a young couple sitting in a car. The woman turns to the man and in a gentle, reassuring voice says, “This doesn’t change who you are. And this is something a lot of people go through.”

Perhaps no truer words than her last sentence have been spoken when it comes to students and mental health, experts say.

“One in three students experiences significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions. Yet only about 30 percent of those students seek help, and that number drops to 10 percent for student-athletes,” said Daniel Eisenberg, associate professor of health management and policy at the School of Public Health. He also holds positions with the Institute for Social Research and the Comprehensive Depression Center.

A partnership between academics and athletics at U-M recently received $50,000 from the NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant Program to address this concern, by developing mental health initiatives for student-athletes and evaluating their impact.

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Project to promote mental health featuring former U-M athletes resonates with many students

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Contacts: Laurel Thomas Gnagney, David Ablauf, Kara Gavin

ANN ARBOR—A video opens with a young couple sitting in a car. The woman turns to the man and in a gentle, reassuring voice says: “This doesn’t change who you are. And this is something a lot of people go through.”

Perhaps no truer words than her last sentence have been spoken when it comes to students and mental health, experts say.

“One in three students experiences significant symptoms of depression, anxiety or other mental health conditions. Yet only about 30 percent of those students seek help, and that number drops to 10 percent for student-athletes,” said Daniel Eisenberg, associate professor of health management and policy at the University of Michigan School of Public Health. He also holds positions with the Institute for Social Research and the U-M Comprehensive Depression Center.

A partnership between academics and athletics at U-M recently received $50,000 from the NCAA Innovations in Research and Practice Grant Program to address this concern, by developing mental health initiatives for student-athletes and evaluating their impact.

The man in the car is former U-M football player Will Heininger. He and former U-M swimmer Kally Fayhee have joined the team that includes the School of Public Health, the Depression Center and Michigan Athletics, to change the conversation about athletes and mental health.

The project includes development of a program to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness and to encourage student-athletes to seek help if needed. For the past few weeks, the partners have been sharing mental health information with U-M athletic teams, showing the videos featuring Heininger and Fayhee, and providing informal, drop-in support groups for student-athletes, which are designed to specifically address their unique concerns and stressors.

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