EIS supports Every Mind Matters campaign on World Mental Health Day

The English Institute of Sport (EIS) is supporting the Every Mind Matters campaign, launched by Public Health England in partnership with the NHS.

The campaign will help people take simple steps to look after their mental health, improve their wellbeing and support others.

The EIS is fully committed to supporting mental health and created a dedicated EIS Mental Health Team in 2018, including an experienced expert panel and two specialist roles (Head of Mental Health and Mental Health Manager) to support athletes and staff.

The EIS Mental Health team works with Olympic and Paralympic sports, many of which also have a psychologist, doctor and Performance Lifestyle Advisor from the EIS embedded within the team.

The additional expert panel offers guidance and advice around complex mental health cases.

Sam Cumming, EIS Mental Health Manager, said:

“There is always more we can do to raise awareness of the importance of mental health and the support available to people, so Every Mind Matters is a hugely positive initiative.

“At the EIS, we are proud to be one of the first sports organisations turning theory into practise in the area of mental health, supporting sports, athletes and our own staff.

“And with our unique position within elite sport, featuring a network of 400 plus experts working with multiple Olympic and Paralympic sports, we are well placed to deliver cross-sport initiatives such as mental health.”

The EIS Mental Health team has already delivered mental health awareness sessions for 25 Olympic and Paralympic sports, with a further 14 planned for delivery before the end of 2019.

In addition to the work of the Mental Health team, the EIS has also launched the #More2Me campaign, an initiative to encourage athletes to improve sport-life balance and recognise the benefits of planning for a life after sport.