Resources
We have a range of resources to help organisations better support and engage people with mental health problems in physical activity.
Our free Self-care library pulls together a range of activities to help the sport and physical activity sector to support their own and others’ wellbeing. The library includes a variety of wellbeing activities and grounding techniques.
Mental Health and Physical Activity Toolkit
This toolkit is made up of a variety of guides. Each one provides guidance, tools, templates and good practice case studies. These can help organisations provide an inclusive and welcoming environment for people experiencing mental health problems to be physically active.
Reports
We have a range of reports from our physical activity projects and programmes. These include insight, learning and good practice examples that may be useful to organisations and individuals.
Exploring our audiences through a physical activity lens
Mental Health in Elite Sport Reports (2022)
Moving for Mental Health Reports (2022)
Supporting young people during physical activity
Coaches, volunteers and leaders play an important role in supporting young people’s mental health when providing physical activity sessions. Working with young people and coaches, we have co-produced resources to upskill the workforce. These provide information on how to better support young people experiencing, or at risk of experiencing, a mental health problem.
Tips on developing a healthy relationship with physical activity
We know physical activity can be an amazing way to support mental health. However, it isn’t helpful for everyone all the time. It’s important to recognise that some people can develop an unhealthy relationship with physical activity.
We have produced guidance for the physical activity workforce on how they can support someone who may be at risk of or experiencing an unhealthy relationship with physical activity.
Mental health champions: a toolkit for the sport and physical activity sector
This resource aims to help organisations, clubs and groups to establish a mental health champions scheme to support the mental health of their members, participants, staff and volunteers
Thriving at Work: A guide for the sport and physical activity sector
This guide aims to help sport and physical activity organisations to improve their approaches to supporting employee’s mental health at work. It includes guidance, tools and good practice examples to help the sector to understand and implement the Thriving at Work standards.
Promoting good mental health through coaching - CARE Resources
The CARE acronym infographics and animation help you to promote good mental health through your coaching. Our CARE resources were co-created in 2016/17 with UK Coaching and Public Health England.
Our newsletter
Each month, we send a monthly e-newsletter to update individuals from across the sport, physical activity and mental health sectors about a variety of topics.
Our newsletters provide updates on our work, and share good practice from across the sector and opportunities for you to get involved with. To date, over 1,400 people have signed up to receive our newsletter.
eLearning: Mental Health Awareness for Sport and Physical Activity +
Complete the course and you'll gain the confidence to be able to support people experiencing mental health problems. You could then help them to thrive both inside and outside of your sessions.
Mental Health Charter for Sport and Recreation
The Charter came from a shared desire across the sport and recreation sector to do more around mental health.
We worked with the Sport and Recreation Alliance and the Professional Players Federation to create the Charter. We also developed resources and case studies to support signatories.
To celebrate the Charter’s seventh anniversary in 2022, we launched the report Seven years of changing culture. The report reviews the impact of the Charter over the last seven years, and highlights the expanding mental health support available to sport and recreation organisations
Mental Health in Sport and Physical Activity Conference recordings
Our 2021 Conference showcased new research, learnings and good practice from the world of both sport and mental health to celebrate the positive impact made over the past six years. You can view the subtitled recordings from every session on our Conference webpage.
