Challenges and triumphs: A PhD student’s journey designing a mental health strategy with a National Sport Organization 

Mikaela C. Papich, Natalie Durand-Bush

Tennis Canada (TC) has responded to recommendations outlined in the Mental Health Strategy for High Performance Sport in Canada (“the MH Strategy) to improve the mental health outcomes of its participants. As the first National Sport Organization (NSO) to formally design, implement, and evaluate a sport-specific version of the MH Strategy, TC understands its responsibility to create a psychologically safe sport culture that is predicated on athlete mental health. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, a Task Force (n = 21 members) and a Core Leadership Team (n = 5 members) engaged in four formal group discussions and multiple informal group discussions throughout a 9-month period to design the sport-specific strategy. A Needs/Gaps Assessment Tool was used to identify priorities, barriers, and resources to improve mental health across the organization. The data culminated in the sport-specific strategy. Throughout the process, the lead author engaged in reflective journaling to note experiences, challenges, accomplishments, decision-making, and lessons learned. Journaling helped to answer key process evaluation questions (e.g., is the strategy logical and feasible? Killion, 2018) influencing the project. The reflective journal data were analyzed using a reflexive thematic analysis (Braun & Clarke, 2019) and five high-order themes were identified: Personal challenges (e.g., mental health issues), interpersonal challenges (e.g., communication styles), organizational challenges (e.g., lack of alignment), external support/resources, and coping skills. The presentation will highlight practical recommendations to work with an NSO, as well as best practices to optimize the PhD journey.