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The impact of a Stress Control course delivered in partnership with a sports organisation on mental health outcomes in a general population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 October 2020

Jennifer Hayes
Affiliation:
HSE, Cork, Ireland
Rosarie Crowley*
Affiliation:
HSE, Cork, Ireland
Yvonne O’Brien
Affiliation:
HSE, Cork, Ireland
Geraldine Hannon
Affiliation:
HSE, Cork, Ireland
Emma Hennessey
Affiliation:
HSE, Cork, Ireland
Laura O’Connell
Affiliation:
HSE, Kerry, Ireland
Deirdre Twomey
Affiliation:
University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
David Berry
Affiliation:
University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Janas Harrington
Affiliation:
St Finbarr’s Hurling & Football Club & University College Cork, Cork, Ireland
Pearse McCarthy
Affiliation:
Midleton GAA Club, Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland
*
*Corresponding author. Email: rosarie.crowley@hse.ie

Abstract

Mental health problems have a significant impact globally in terms of social and economic costs. Increasing access to and uptake of mental health interventions (particularly by men) remains a challenge for service providers. The current study sought to examine the efficacy of a delivering a Stress Control intervention in partnership with a community sporting organisation (the Gaelic Athletic Assocaition, GAA) in ameliorating mental health difficulties in a general population. Measures of anxiety, depression and quality of life were administered before and after the delivery of the 6-week programme. A focus group was conducted afterwards to gather qualitative data on participants’ experiences of the intervention. Statistically significant decreases in depression scores were found following attendance at the course: t (94) = 3.14, p = .002, with a large effect size (0.5) (n = 95). There was an increase in the number of male attendees compared with clinic-based courses. Thematic analysis of the focus group data revealed a number of key themes including increased accessibility in terms of the scale and context of the delivery of the course. Delivering large-scale psychoeducational courses like Stress Control in partnership with the GAA represents a promising avenue for increasing access (for males in particular) to an effective intervention for improving mental health outcomes

Key learning aims

  1. (1) To gain an understanding of the impact of delivering a large-scale psychological intervention in partnership with a community sports organisation on accessibility and stigma reduction for participants.

  2. (2) To become aware of the potential benefits of considering non-clinic-based locations in running public mental health interventions.

  3. (3) To understand the key role of the normalisation of the experience of common mental health problems and the impact on intervention uptake.

Type
Service Models, Forms of Delivery and Cultural Adaptations of CBT
Copyright
© British Association for Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapies 2020

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References

Further reading

White, J. (2010). Stress Control: large group didactic CBT classes for common mental health problems. In The Oxford Guide to Low Intensity CBT Interventions, ed. Bennett-Levy et al. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
White, J. (2017). Stress Control: A Mind, Body, Life Approach to Boosting Your Well-Being. London, UK: Robinson.Google Scholar
Wood, S., Morgan, P., & Bowen, M. (2006). Managing stress and anxiety: education for adults in primary care. Primary Health Care, 16, 34–40.Google Scholar

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