The BBC visited Finch Farm last week to find out more about the work that the Premier League is delivering at all clubs to look after the mental health of footballers.
Leading suicide prevention charity, If U Care Share, met with Everton Academy scholars on Tuesday to deliver a session on emotional well-being, how it’s normal to have mental health issues, coping strategies and how to ask for support.
The classroom session was delivered by Dean Smith, the founder of the charity, who mixed humour and short quizzes with some thought-provoking stories, not least when he told the scholars his life turned upside down when his son took his own life nine years ago.
The aim of the sessions are to enable the budding youngsters to think about the sort of problems they might encounter and to educate them on who they should turn to if they need help.
The interactive session also incorporated a talk from Paul Lake, a Premier League Club Support Manager who works within the Academy system. Lake has had first-hand experience of mental health problems in football, having struggled with depression following a series of career-ending injuries in the early 1990s.
Funded by the Professional Footballers’ Association, If U Care Share have been working with the Premier League for the past four seasons as part of the Premier League’s award-winning education programme for 16-18 year old scholars.
Current research says that one in four young men in the UK will experience some kind of mental health issue. There are currently over 3,400 players from the age of nine to 21 in the Premier League Academy system.
Martyn Heather, Head of Education, Premier League said: “We have seen a shift in society as a whole with mental health issues and within football we recognise that to play at the very top it's not just about the skills you develop on the pitch, it's also about the skills you develop off the pitch. As a League we've become more knowledgeable about mental health and it's about creating an environment that we can speak about it and become more educated.
“It’s a really important message for players to understand that a mental health injury is no different to a physical injury. But when a player gets a physical injury many people can see the signs, including the player himself. With mental health it’s not so easy to detect. So the mental health first aider is there to recognise the symptoms and enable players to get whatever help they need.”
Prior to the start of the 2014/15 Barclays Premier League season, the Premier League installed Mental Health First Aiders in all of its 20 clubs. This member of staff works with the academy team and has undertaken training in Youth Mental Health First Aid.
By introducing Mental Health First Aiders it enables the League to have people within the clubs that can recognise some of the symptoms and help signpost players to the help that they might need. It is also about creating a wider environment and culture where players are comfortable admitting that they might need help.
In addition to the classroom sessions and mental health first aid training, the Premier League has also worked closely in this area with the PFA and Sporting Chance. Together they recently created a 24-hour helpline for players to call if they are suffering from issues related to mental health or emotional wellbeing. They can speak to qualified counsellor in confidence.
To watch the feature that aired on BBC Breakfast on Friday 10 October click
here.
