Student-athletes train their bodies relentlessly—but what about their minds? The Beacon Athletics C.A.R.E.S. (Collaborative Approaches to Reducing Stigma and Enhancing Support) project was conceived to address this challenge, fostering a culture where mental health is prioritized alongside performance. The Beacon Athletics C.A.R.E.S. project is a collaborative effort among the Counseling, School Psychology, and Sport department, the New Balance Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport (I2LS), and the UMass Boston Athletics and Recreation department to address mental health stigma within the athletics community.
In October of 2023, Rachel Shinnick, in her first year of the UMass Boston Counseling Psychology doctoral program, approached athletics with the idea for a research project that would aim to reduce mental health stigma, increase mental health literacy, and improve awareness of on-campus resources to support mental health amongst student athletes, coaches, and athletics staff. Throughout the 2023-2024 academic year, Shinnick conceptualized methodology and received Institutional Review Board approval to conduct research within athletics. In Fall 2024, Shinnick emailed every active student-athlete to recruit participation in the Beacon C.A.R.E.S. project, which culminated in a subsection of around 100 athletes expressing interest. In a novel approach (compared to what's been done at other institutions - particularly DI), Shinnick chose to also include head coaches, athletic staff, and administration in the study.
Throughout the fall semester, Shinnick coordinated a psychoeducational workshop series for student-athletes, coaches, and staff aimed at improving knowledge related to mental health within athletics, reducing stigma, and enhancing perceptions of available support/resources. In total, 80 student-athletes and 22 coaches/administrators/staff members participated fully in the project. Preliminary results indicate that mental health literacy, perceptions of seeking support, and stigma all improved for student athletes post-workshop, indicating the effectiveness of the workshop intervention. There was also an increase in mental health literacy among coaches/administrators/staff, indicating that addressing how to recognize mental health in a workshop setting was effective for staff.
The study also provided some insights into what our student athletes see as areas for improvement in addressing mental health on campus. Calls for more outreach, programming, and athlete-specific services were echoed amongst student athletes and staff participants. Currently, the Counseling Psychology program, the New Balance Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport, and the Athletics and Recreation department are working collaboratively to identify opportunities to address these concerns, improve access, and enhance outreach and programming related to mental health. Stay tuned for where the Beacon C.A.R.E.S project plans to expand its impact and the continued collaborative efforts that are in store for assessing and addressing the mental health and well-being needs of UMass Boston Athletics and Recreation!
Funding for the project was generously provided by the New Balance Institute for Innovative Leadership in Sport, aligning with its mission to promote Sport Performance and Holistic Wellness, as well as through the Association for Applied Sport Psychology's Ogelsby-Snyder grant for Equity and Cultural Diversity.
