MENTiS

For the 2022 Erasmus+ Sport call, the research group Sport Psychology and Mental Support (SPMB) submitted as a coordinator a collaborative partnership entitled “Supporting Mental Health through the Entourage in high-performance Sport” (MENTiS). We are very excited to announce that our 2-year project got accepted and funded for the full grant. The project is led by VUB (prof. dr. Paul Wylleman, prof. dr. Koen De Brandt, dr. Jolan Kegelaers, and dra. Laura Spolverato) and co-funded by the Erasmus+ Sport programme of the European Commission.

MENTiS (1/1/2023 - 31/12/2024) aims to strengthen mental health initiatives within European high-performance and talent development sports organizations. To this end, the project will develop new community-based interventions targeting the athlete entourage (i.e., coaches, support staff, significant others).

More specifically, the objective is to develop evidence-based mental health educational resources and tools centred around three key pillars:

1. mental health literacy

2. mental health ‘first aid’ competencies

3. mental health ‘self-care’ competencies

These educational resources and tools will be developed, implemented, evaluated, refined, and eventually widely disseminated within the project lifespan. The project provides a direct added value within the EU context by focusing on the development of mental health competencies in the important, yet often overlooked, population of entourage members. 

To address these aims, MENTiS brings together a consortium of 28 experts in high performance sport and mental health, representing 8 organizations from 6 European countries (Belgium, France, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, UK). The consortium includes 4 national sport governing bodies, 1 high-performance centre, and 3 athlete-friendly universities. More information on the consortium and its members can be found here. 

The resources and tools developed and implemented within this project will allow organizations to optimize their support services and facilitate mental health support for both athletes and entourage members. 

The MENTIS project and its deliverables aim to generate positive impact by bringing direct added value to European high-performance sport research, policy, and practice in the following ways:

• Promoting and increasing awareness on the topic of mental health in sports;
• Providing opportunities to develop a detailed understanding of the role of the athlete entourage for promoting mental health;
• Providing and enhancing opportunities for the development of entourage members’ competencies to promote mental health;
• Facilitating cooperation related to mental health between sport, education and health stakeholders.

"It is projected that 6.636 athletes and 1.568 entourage members can be involved in this project through the consortium partners."