Professional football players need to get help for mental health challenges the same way they seek help for a twisted ankle: That's the message of the "Total Wellness" initiative the National Football League (NFL) is using to change professional football's culture when it comes to psychological well-being. Launched in 2012, the initiative has relied on psychologists and their expertise to educate players and others about the importance of mental health on and off the field.
Professional football players have the same mental health problems as everyone else, but they also face some unique challenges, such as the confusion, depression, aggression, dementia and other symptoms that can accompany a degenerative brain disease called chronic traumatic encephalopathyopens in new window that's caused by repeated head injuries (see "Focusing on head injuries"). Another challenge is combating mental health stigma among this "extra macho" group, says former pro-football player turned licensed professional counselor Dwight Hollier, who oversees the "Total Wellness" initiative as vice president of wellness and clinical services in the player engagement division. "When you grow up in an environment where you're constantly being told to suck it up, push through, brush it off, that becomes who you are and how you interact with the world," says Hollier. "It can be detrimental when you're faced with challenges you can't handle yourself."
Using a holistic approach, "Total Wellness" gets players thinking about mental health from their first day on the job, with rookie orientation that now includes eight psychoeducational modules on such topics as stress management, healthy relationships and decision-making. The initiative also connects players to resources that can help, such as an employee-assistance program that offers eight free counseling sessions for players or any member of their household.
To help league and team staff recognize signs that players may be in crisis, the NFL turned to psychologist John Draper, PhD, chief clinical officer for the Mental Health Association of New York City.
While the original idea was to focus on domestic violence, the NFL had already developed and put in place programs and policies to help with that issue, says Draper. As a result, the training broadened out to include any kind of crisis, including problems related to domestic violence. Draper and his team have trained 250 staffers from all 32 NFL teams, including athletic trainers, security personnel, administrative staff and others. The daylong training taught them to connect with those in crisis, assess the situation, problem-solve and then stay engaged. "It was a very enlightened approach," says Draper. "Very few workforces say, ‘We should teach people how to recognize and support each other in any kind of crisis.'"
Draper and his team have also provided training in mental health first aid and suicide prevention to former players who serve as NFL's "transition coaches" and help current players transition to life after football. "When you're the top 1 percent in your field and someone tells you, you can't do it anymore, you're going to be impacted in some way," says Hollier.
"Total Wellness" also includes the NFL Life Line, a free, confidential hotline (at (800) 506-0078 or via chat at www.nfllifeline.orgopens in new window) aimed at current and former NFL players, coaches, team and league staff and family members. The hotline connects callers to licensed mental health clinicians who receive special training on NFL culture and resources.
"Suicide prevention is a major focus," says psychologist Ciara Dockery, PhD, of the Mental Health Association of New York City, who directs the hotline. Current players may be under tremendous pressure to perform, while former players may be struggling with the transition from "superstar" to "normal guy," says Dockery, whose own father spent six years playing for the New York Jets. Some players are coping with chronic pain and substance abuse related to that pain. Family members may be concerned about cognitive problems in players who have sustained head injuries. Callers can even receive a follow-up call in the next 24 hours to help connect them with whatever resources they need.
"It's isolation—guys not reaching out—that keeps me up at night," says Dockery. "There's a lot of support out there if we can just get them to make the call."
Hollier, who struggled with depression after an injury abruptly ended his career in 2000, keeps an NFL Life Line card in his wallet. "I have the Life Line on speed dial on my cellphone," he says.
