Help Out a Mate: A trial of a brief sports-based mental health literacy program for young males

Brief name: “Help Out a Mate” – A brief sports based mental health literacy program for adolescent male athletes Why: Young males are reluctant to seek help for mental health problems. Only 65% of those with a mental health problem access health services. During formative research focus groups, the adolescent male athletes asked for more information about mental health problems, how to recognise them, and how they can help out their friends if they are experiencing a mental health problem. It has also been found that some of the most common reasons that young people who experience mental health problems do not seek professional help is due to stigma and poor mental health literacy (Lawrence et al., 2015). Around 70% of adolescents participate in organised sport in Australia. Delivery of a brief sports-based mental health literacy program has the potential to improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma and increase help seeking for mental health problems. Although adolescents prefer to disclose problems to their friends (Rickwood, Deane, Wilson, & Ciarrochi, 2005), they may not be equipped to appropriately respond to friends who are experiencing distress or mental health problems (Jorm, Wright, & Morgan, 2007; Rickwood, Deane, & Wilson, 2007; Yap, Wright, & Jorm, 2011). The "Help Out a Mate" mental health literacy presentation is aimed at increasing mental health literacy among adolescent males (specifically in regard to depression and anxiety), increase their skills and confidence to help a peer showing signs of a mental health problem, increase helping behaviour and supportive actions, increase appropriate help-seeking among young males at risk of mental health problems, and decrease stigmatising attitudes. What: This intervention will address the components of mental health literacy as proposed by Jorm (2012), with the content and structure developed on review of literature and current interventions including teen Mental Health First Aid and Insight, as well as guidelines and fact sheets developed by not-for-profit mental health organisations such as Reach Out, BeyondBlue, Headspace and the Black Dog Institute. Specifically, the intervention involves; (i) what is mental health and mental illness, (ii) myths about mental illness, (iii) what is depression?, (iv) what is anxiety?, and e) how to help, and where to get information. The program focuses on recognising signs, approaching the friend, encouraging help-seeking, making an adult aware of the mental health problem, not trying to fix their friend’s problem, and self-care and self-help behaviours. Additionally, the program addresses how to communicate that they are not "OK", and how to ask for help. A Man Card the size of a business card is provided and includes the main steps covered on how to help their friend as presented in the intervention, and referral information to other mental health resources. How and Where: This intervention will be delivered once using a face-to-face approach, conducted in a room at the athlete’s sports clubs to groups of around 10-15 adolescent male athletes. The program will be conducted by young male volunteers with lived mental health experience, as it has been found that a mixture of education and exposure to someone with a mental illness can effectively reduce stigma. The volunteers will be trained in Mental Health First Aid, facilitation in how to present the intervention, and have a current Working With Children Check. When and How Much: This intervention will be delivered towards the end of the sports season. Participants allocated to the intervention group will complete baseline data collection approximately 2 weeks prior to receiving the intervention. Measures will be taken again immediately following the intervention, and again at one-month follow-up. The control group will complete the measures at 3 time points before receiving the intervention. The program is designed to be delivered in a sport context and brief (approx. 45 minutes to one hour). The presentation will be presented during or around a team training session. Tailoring: The intervention will be delivered at a team level at one large soccer club, and tailoring will not be necessary. How Well Planned: Intervention adherence will be assessed by an observer involved in the project using an intervention protocol that volunteer facilitators could also follow. Directly after the intervention the athletes were asked to complete a short questionnaire. References Jorm, A. F. (2012). Mental Health Literacy: Empowering the Community to Take Action for Better Mental Health. American Psychologist, 67(3), 231-243. Jorm, A. F., Wright, A., & Morgan, A. J. (2007). Where to seek help for a mental disorder? National survey of the beliefs of Australian youth and their parents. Medical Journal of Australia, 187(10), 556-560. Lawrence, D., Johnson, S., Hafekost, J., Boterhoven de Haan, K., Sawyer, M. G., Ainley, J., & Zubrick, S. R. (2015). The Mental Health of Children and Adolescents: Report on the second Australian Child and Adolescent Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing. Canberra. Rickwood, D. J., Deane, F. P., & Wilson, C. J. (2007). When and how do young people seek professional help for mental health problems? Medical Journal of Australia, 187(7 (Suppl)), S35-S39. Rickwood, D. J., Deane, F. P., Wilson, C. J., & Ciarrochi, J. (2005). Young People's Help-seeking for Mental Health Problems. Australian e-Journal for the Advancement of Mental Health, The, 4(3), 218-251. Yap, M. B., Wright, A., & Jorm, A. F. (2011). First aid actions taken by young people for mental health problems in a close friend or family member: findings from an Australian national survey of youth. Psychiatry research, 188(1), 123-128.