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It’s your first Friday night in November without a football game, Netflix is up, Stranger Things is streaming and all of a sudden you are starving; if you don’t get some pizza, fast, you may become as monstrous as a demogorgon.
Do you have the number on speed dial ready to order your favorite pizza? Of course, it’s saved in your phone. When there is a constant need for a service or comfort in our lives, we typically memorize or educate ourselves on how to get what we want as quickly as possible. We know the fastest route to the store, or to a friend’s house.
What about the things that aren’t as commonly used? As athletic trainers, we typically plan for worst-case scenarios with procedures or emergency action plans for musculoskeletal injuries or exacerbated medical conditions. Do we take the same approach with mental health?
There is a sense of urgency surrounding mental health: athletic departments, student organizations, physician groups, athletic training staff, executive boards...leagues of professionals are beginning to take a proactive approach to supporting those who need mental health resources. What can you do as an athletic trainer to make sure you are prepared for escalating an athlete or associate who is in need of such assistance?
Know the key players
First and foremost, as you are preparing for the school year or getting adjusted to a new role, it is important to get acquainted with anyone who may be pivotal in an athlete or associate’s pathway of care. Athletic trainers occupy the front lines, often treating strains and sprains, so naturally, anything beyond their scope of practice would be escalated to a team physician. Somewhere this is written down, perhaps in procedure binder in your office, or it is explained in a staff meeting. Formal procedures and education for mental health referrals should be treated no differently. If you are a member of a healthcare organization, there is a chance you may have a mental health or psychology department that is just a phone call or email away. It is important (as the person interacting with your active population the most) to reach out, introduce yourself, describe your role and setting, so there can be smooth collaboration in the event you refer to them in the future. If they are okay with it, adding their information into a procedures manual or directory may help speed up the process when suggesting their services to someone who has admitted to you they need help or wants someone to talk to.
If you are an athletic trainer in the industrial setting, chances are there is not a therapist or counselor within your four walls. It can be helpful to touch base with the company’s benefits coordinator to discover any programs for counseling or therapy they may offer, as many organizations provide them to support their associates. Again, adding this information to your manuals or action plans can help facilitate a situation when someone comes to you exhausted or hysterical, and is in need of a helping hand.
Secondary school support
Most athletic trainers are set up in secondary schools across America. There are great divides between communities, school districts or private and charter schools and what they offer kids in the way of mental health support. Inner-city and suburban schools may vary drastically in one having an entire staff dedicated to student counseling, where the other has one or maybe no one tasked with talking to students, and unfortunately there can be disastrous consequences to a lack of communication with a child who is ready to self-harm, or harm others as a result of their pain.
Athletic trainers may not have contact with every student in the school, but being in contact with a fraction is enough to warrant responsibility on the AT’s end. An athletic trainer can be a lifeline for an individual or an entire group of people who work in secondary schools. Help them by identifying your resources within your building, your school district, and go above and beyond and connect those individuals with any resources you may have within your employer organization or the community. In this day and age, an athletic trainer should know every counselor, therapist and student-based organization that is designed to give children a safe space to release stress and potentially discover some relief from their pain.
Be a complete provider
The tides are changing. Healthcare everywhere is circling the wagons around those within their reach and offering a whole body, whole mind approach to treating anything from bumps and bruises to physical and mental abuse. Athletic trainers are no exception. Take the time to prepare your operations to escalate mental health as you would physical health. Your preparation has the ability to facilitate relief for someone who doesn’t present to you with swelling or discoloration. Like all athletic trainers may well know, our assistance may be a thankless step, but take comfort in knowing you have the potential in saving lives and preventing tragedy, just by being aware and ready.
Create pathways, provide safe outlets, and help give someone a chance at their own comfortable Friday night, as you enjoy your own.
