Jean-Bindley Geneviève, Sauriol-Gauthier Ana, Corbin-Berrigan Laurie-Ann, Girard Stéphanie
Department of Human Kinetics, University of Québec at Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.
University of Québec at Trois-Rivières, Trois-Rivières, QC, Canada.
Front Psychol. 2025 Aug 11;16:1619802. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1619802. eCollection 2025.
Athletes are at high risk of experiencing psychological distress. It is unclear if professionals in charge of competitive athletes' physical and psychological wellbeing are adequately trained to identify and manage psychological distress, despite many athletic trainers (ATs) reporting having held a position where it was necessary to counsel student-athletes on personal issues. However, ATs have also reported having received insufficient training to support athletes in the face of psychological distress.
The present scoping review aims to identify, in scientific literature, how ATs can improve the psychological support provided to competitive athletes.
This scoping review was carried out using a six-step process in accordance with the PRISMA-ScR guideline. The initial search, based on specific keywords related to ATs, athletes, strategies and mental health, identified a total of 1,204 articles. The research was conducted across 8 databases (APA PsycINFO, SPORTDiscuss, Google Scholar, Social Science Research Network-SSRN and others). The initial search, based on specific keywords related to ATs, athletes, strategies and mental health, identified a total of 1,204 articles. After removing duplicates, abstracts and titles were screened in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Included articles were published between 2010 and 2024, written in English, on athletes aged 8-25 years, from Western cultures, participating in sport within a sport organization and presenting strategies that could assist ATs in the management of athletes with mental difficulties. The search yielded 22 articles that were relevant to the study.
Results of retained articles were separated into four themes: (1) training; (2) prevention; (3) intervention strategies; and (4) referral. Prevention involves implementing a set of measures aimed at avoiding or reducing the number and severity of psychological distress. Training helps fill gaps in the understanding and application of psychological interventions in sport. Intervention strategies allow professionals to intervene based on meeting the fundamental psychological needs of athletes. Finally, as soon as signs of psychological distress are identified, it is important to refer the athlete to a mental health professional in order to provide adequate support to athletes.
Based on the results, two themes are most often reported, such as prevention and intervention strategies. Future research should explore the long-term impacts of these interventions implemented by ATs on athletes' mental wellbeing.
运动员面临心理困扰的风险很高。尽管许多运动训练师（AT）报告称曾担任过就个人问题为学生运动员提供咨询的职位，但负责竞技运动员身心健康的专业人员是否接受了足够的培训以识别和管理心理困扰尚不清楚。然而，AT也报告称在面对运动员的心理困扰时，他们得到的支持培训不足。
本范围综述旨在在科学文献中确定AT如何改善为竞技运动员提供的心理支持。
本范围综述按照PRISMA-ScR指南采用六步流程进行。基于与AT、运动员、策略和心理健康相关的特定关键词进行的初步搜索，共识别出1204篇文章。该研究在8个数据库（美国心理学会心理学文摘数据库、体育讨论数据库、谷歌学术、社会科学研究网络-SSRN等）中进行。基于与AT、运动员、策略和心理健康相关的特定关键词进行的初步搜索，共识别出1204篇文章。去除重复项后，根据纳入和排除标准对摘要和标题进行筛选。纳入的文章发表于2010年至2024年之间，用英文撰写，涉及年龄在8至25岁之间、来自西方文化、在体育组织内参与运动且提出可协助AT管理有心理困难运动员的策略的运动员。搜索得到22篇与该研究相关的文章。
保留文章的结果分为四个主题：（1）培训；（2）预防；（3）干预策略；（4）转诊。预防包括实施一系列旨在避免或减少心理困扰的数量和严重程度的措施。培训有助于填补体育领域中心理干预理解和应用方面的空白。干预策略使专业人员能够根据满足运动员的基本心理需求进行干预。最后，一旦识别出心理困扰的迹象，将运动员转介给心理健康专业人员以便为运动员提供充分支持就很重要。
基于研究结果，最常报告的两个主题是预防和干预策略。未来的研究应探讨AT实施的这些干预措施对运动员心理健康的长期影响。
