The overall objective of World Mental Health Day this week was to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and to mobilize efforts in support of mental health.
It’s an opportunity for everyone working on mental health issues to talk about their work, and what more needs to be done to make mental health care a reality for people worldwide.
Mental health in football
Mental health has long been an issue in society and, as a mirror of society, the world of football is no different. In the often macho environment of men’s football, it has been difficult for many players, coaches, club staff, as well as people working for the governing bodies, PGMOL, PFA, EFL & Premier League, to talk about their struggles with mental health.
The Covid 19 Pandemic brought mental health (as well as physical health as a result of the virus), into sharp focus. The massive restrictions placed on so many of us over the last two years have had an additional and significant detrimental effect on our mental health.
The FA, EFL and PFA have been working hard with a range of partners such as Mind to alleviate these issues in football for those involved. Of course, as supporters we have also had our struggles with mental health.
Not being able to go to games for long periods of time didn’t help. Going to a football game at any level, as a spectator, allows us to deal with the physical, emotional and mental barriers and issues we face in everyday life, it’s an outlet to let off steam. When we haven’t had that outlet, in some cases it has caused those issues to deteriorate.
Now we are all back in football grounds supporting our teams, we once again have that outlet, but the damage that happened over the last two years hasn’t just gone away and it’s an ongoing process for many. At Carlisle United we are aware of this and understand it.
We hope that coming to Brunton Park in some small way helps those of us who have faced difficult days over the past couple of years. Whether this be over the short or the long-term, we welcome all to Brunton Park.
On Saturday we welcome guests from two organisations.
Workington Super Diamonds FC
Workington Super Diamonds FC are a club that play in competitions organised by the Cumberland FA. Many of the players have physical and/or mental disabilities, but get an immense amount of positivity from playing and watching football.
On Saturday, after the game, the club will be holding their awards ceremony in the newly refurbished Legends Bar, which we hope will be a fantastic experience for all.
Ricky Fee, Club Manager for Workington Super Diamonds said: “In 2018 Workington Diamonds set up a pan-disability football team. We have two age groups, U16s and U12s, and we train once a week at Workington Academy’s new state of the art 4G training facility.
“We take part in monthly football festivals that cater for both of our age groups and are open to all genders and abilities. These are run by Cumberland FA.
“The training sessions are held in a safe environment and are run by qualified coaches. Our training sessions and tournaments offer parents the chance to meet other parents who have similar challenges in life.
“We also encourage parents to get involved in the weekly sessions. We hold regular social events where all parents, children and carers get together outside of football. All of our sessions are aimed at encouraging the children to learn new skills, gain confidence, make new friends but most importantly to have fun!”
Community Mental Health Services
We will also welcome representatives from Community Mental Health Services, which covers Cumbria and is part of a wider NHS Foundation Trust covering Cumbria, Northumberland & Tyne & Wear.
Stephen Philpott and Andrea Little from the Early Intervention Psychosis Team said: “The Early intervention in psychosis (EIP) service support those who are experiencing ‘psychosis’ for the first time.
“Psychosis is a word which can be used to describe experiences of seeing or hearing things that aren’t real, or unusual beliefs that are not true.
“It is common in people who have a diagnosis of schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder and bipolar disorder. Cannabis and other drugs can sometimes cause psychosis, so people who use substances may get help from an EIP service if they are having such experiences.
“We are a specialist multi-disciplinary community mental health team, providing early assessment and treatment to those experience a first episode of psychosis between the ages of 14-65. Our team consists of mental health nurses, occupational therapists, psychological therapist, peers support workers (experts by lived experience) and psychiatrists.
“There is a wealth of evidence that show EIP teams significantly improve people’s prospect of recovery, education, employment and reduces the likelihood of relapse or suicide.
“As a team we aim to assess people who may be experiencing a first episode of psychosis within 14 days, and if appropriate for our service we deliver the following interventions over a 3 year period, as per NICE guidelines, as follows:
- Medicines management
- Family Interventions
- CBT for Psychosis
- Employment Support
- Physical health monitoring
- Health and wellbeing support
- Behavioural Family Therapy
- Carer-focussed education and support programmes.
“We are a passionate and highly motivated service in the delivery of recovery and wellbeing focused high quality care plans, where appropriate in collaboration with service users and carer. We have a strong positive team culture which encourages optimism and hope for the future.”
We hope that all our guests enjoy the game and take away something positive from the experience, and we look forward to seeing them at Carlisle United again in the near future.
Nigel Davidson EDI Officer & Fan Director, who arranged for the groups to join us, added: “It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate World Mental Health Day with some very special local people who thoroughly enjoy football and take some much from it.
“We are honoured to host them today and look forward to seeing them back at Brunton Park soon. We also look forward to developing long-lasting partnerships with both organisations going forward.”
Please see the following links regarding mental health in football from The FA, The PFA and The EFL & Mind:
https://www.thefa.com/football-rules-governance/policies/equality/mental-health
https://www.thepfa.com/players/wellbeing/mental-health-and-football
https://www.mind.org.uk/news-campaigns/campaigns/mind-and-efl-partnership/the-mind-11-highlights/