According to Kaiser Health News (1/20, Kreidler), the NFL “is working its way toward the kind of mental health support for its players, coaches, and staff in which a range of counseling is standard and readily accessible.” In 2019, the league “implemented a formal program to manage its employees’ mental health needs,” a program that “mandates that each team have a licensed behavioral health clinician on staff.” The “individual franchises,” however, “still have great latitude in implementing that directive.” Meanwhile, “the NFL’s best chance to make big strides in its mental health coverage, clinicians say, may derive from the simple fact that it is continually drafting and developing new talent,” and younger players are “more open to the idea of dealing with their mental health.”
Related Links:
— “NFL Has Been Slow to Embrace Mental Health Support for Players “Mark Kreidler, Kaiser Health News, January 20, 2023