NASHVILLE, Tenn., Aug. 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — HopeNation Counseling, in partnership with the Davis Family YMCA in East Tennessee, recently completed a 4 session Student Athlete Mental Health Group for area teens. The 90-minute groups, offered once a week, included 60 minutes of mental health counseling and 30 minutes of physical activity. The group was open to any student athletes in the area.
“I have been wanting to do something like this for a while to support our student athletes at the YMCA. HopeNation helped bring my dream to reality through providing mental health support to the Student Athlete community,” says Erin Stidham, Senior Program Director of the Davis Family YMCA.
The mental health counseling group was facilitated by Casey Merrill, LPC-MHSP, the Executive Director of HopeNation’s Campus Counseling Program, stated “When I played college-level volleyball, mental health was not discussed openly by my teammates or coaches. Our group of student athletes is passionate about incorporating well-being into their already rigorous schedules. This drives my motivation to continue providing therapeutic support to my fellow athletes.”
The student athlete group focused on 3 objectives:
- Develop an awareness of their current mental health needs and how to improve their overall mental wellbeing by incorporating mental health initiatives into their daily routine.
- Improve their communication with coaches, parents and caregivers to be able to take care of their mental health needs.
- Develop strategies and applications to better balance academic and athletic requirements, including time management techniques.
In addition to mental health counselling, the group of student athletes participated in physical workouts with Jolon Williams, a YMCA trainer, family and sports program director, and a football coach at Central High School. Mr. Williams states “Working with student athletes was satisfying for me because they now understand how important their mental health and overall wellness is at a young age. Knowing and sharing that you can make a difference now and not later creates a deeper sense of positive impact.”
The group members all received pre- and post-assessments that measured awareness of well-being, stress levels, and feelings of hope. In the aggregate, the group increased their awareness of wellbeing while decreasing their stress levels by 50%, as measured by the Perceived Stress Scale and the NCAA Student-Athlete Well-Being Scale (SAWS). In addition, after 4 sessions, the student athletes increased their overall hope score by 30%. An increase in hopefulness has been positively correlated with an improvement in overall wellbeing.
“At the Y, our mission is to provide programs that build a healthy spirit, mind, and body. Giving young people a safe space to focus on mental health aligns perfectly with our mission. We’re excited to see a young generation that is willing to talk openly about the unique stress and pressure they face as student athletes and then work to find healthy solutions. Our Y is proud to offer this new program, and we’re thankful for the team from HopeNation Counseling that is helping to guide these conversations.” Pam Williams, Executive Director, Davis Family YMCA.
In order to continue the positive work started during the group, Ms. Merrill worked with the team to identify ongoing behaviors that would benefit their mental health. Specifically, the student athletes committed to spending 3-5 minutes a day on the self-care and self-esteem building activities that they learned in group. They set specific objectives, like arriving early to practice or practicing techniques on the way to practice, to incorporate what they learned during the group sessions.
“We were delighted to pilot this student athlete program with the Davis YMCA, and we look forward to more innovative collaborations on mental health with both the Davis YMCA and other YMCA’s throughout the state,” says Gina Drobnick, HopeNation’s CEO.
About the YMCA
Driven by its founding mission, the Y has served as a leading nonprofit committed to strengthening community for more than 175 years. The Y empowers everyone, no matter who they are or where they’re from, by ensuring access to resources, relationships and opportunities for all to learn, grow and thrive. By bringing together people from different backgrounds, perspectives and generations, the Y’s goal is to improve overall health and well-being, ignite youth empowerment and demonstrate the importance of connections in and across 10,000 communities nationwide. Learn more at www.ymca.org.
About HopeNation Counseling
HopeNation Counseling offers expert online therapy for teens and young adults, walking alongside them as they cultivate mental wellbeing, emotional strength and a thriving life. To learn more, please visit www.hopenationcounseling.com.
SOURCE HopeNation