University Clinicians’ Experiences of Supporting Student-Athletes in Seeking Support For Mental Health Needs

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to discover and understand the experiences of clinicians at Division I universities supporting university student-athletes. The theory that guided this study was Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory as it relates to the various systems in which people are connected and impacted knowingly or unknowingly. The data was collected from the participants who have experienced the phenomenon via virtual semi-structured interviews. Data analysis strategies were a textural description of the clinicians’ experiences, a structural description of clinicians’ experiences, and a combination of the textural and structural descriptions to convey the overall essence of the experience (Creswell & Poth, 2018). Participant experiences that were studied were: (a) perceptions of the policies and procedures that support university athletes in seeking connection to university mental health supports, (b) insights into the effectiveness of multidisciplinary interprofessional teams that support university student-athletes to seek help, (c) evaluations of the impact of educational initiatives aimed at enhancing the skills of staff and faculty that can support university student-athletes in seeking support for mental health needs, and (d) examination of how university student-athletes perceive negative implications on their identity if they seek out mental health support.