A Pilot Study of a Comprehensive Mental Health Intervention for Collegiate Athletes

Research on mental health interventions for athletes have recognized systematic limitations in the field (i.e., a dearth of randomized control trials, and lack of long-term follow up measurement). The current study summarized the pilot study of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Talk Today mental health intervention within collegiate sport. Four teams (two male (n = 64), two female (n = 74)) were randomly assigned to an intervention or a wait-list control condition. Mental health literacy, stigma, psychological distress, and help-seeking were measured at four different timepoints, including a 6-month follow up. There were no significant effects between the conditions over time on any of the outcomes. However, responses from an exit survey showed that the participants felt satisfied with the program and confident in applying the content that they had learned. Future research, particularly feasibility studies, are warranted in this field.