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How did you become the Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead at the WRPA?

I played for Ospreys for ten years and during that time I was always wanting to do things on the side, to try different careers to see what I wanted to do. When I was 25, I did an Introduction to Counselling course which made me realise that people often want to speak but we don’t create the right environment. I carried on gaining various Mental Health qualifications and approached the WRPA about providing more mental health support, especially at academy level. I received lots of support and feedback on the ‘Resilience for Rugby’ programme I wanted to put in place and how to link it to performance. From there I became the Mental Health & Wellbeing Lead at the WRPA. After I retired from playing, I spent two years as an Athlete Support Officer at Swansea University and then had the opportunity to take on the role of PDM at Ospreys which means I have more time to put a structure in behind the scenes to support the players in all aspects of their lives.

How has being a player helped you in your role?

First and foremost I have to say thank you to my personal development manager who used to work for the WRPA at Ospreys Tim Jones, he supported my development during my career and transition away from the game as well as still being a mentor for me in my current role.

When I first went to the Academy managers, they were really receptive, because I was a player and had contacts and knewthe coaches, they let me in. I wasn’t going to slate what had been done before, they knew I was coming at it from the player’s perspective.

There are so many things that affect mental health around selection injuries, not being sure if you’re going to get the next contract and from playing experience you can empathise authentically and that’s a big thing. When a player knows they can relate to you, you get a lot more honesty. They can see that I understand there’s more to life than rugby and everyone has lives away from the sport. My interest is in the people not the professional rugby players, rugby is part of you but it doesn’t define you and it’s important to balance family life and everything that comes with growing up. Being 18 years old and getting thrown into the spotlight as role models isn’t easy and I can relate to that.

How have you seen attitudes to mental health change since you started working with Clubs?

I feel now there’s a lot more understanding about the difference between mental health and illness. We’ve all got mental health so it’s about breaking down how we’re feeling and giving strategies to cope better with all the things that can affect players as people not just professional rugby players.

I think we’ve seen a shift from reactive support when things are really bad to ensuring that the conversations are happening all the time and I don’t want them to be called mental health conversations, we’re just talking about different emotions which turn up at different times and the more time we’ve got to express those the better we’ll feel and players are realising that without looking after their mental health, they’re not going to consistently perform at the top level.

How do you tie in your role with clinical support?

The referral system to clinical support always needs to be there, we have been so fortunate to be able to work very closely with Dr Dale Thomas (clinical psychologist) and Dr Stephen Mellalieu, but there is so much support available through open, honest conversations which deal with normal things going on and as long as the player knows there’s total confidentiality and they can trust you, they can feel empowered to make the decision to talk to someone else if they need to.

What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?

It depends what you deem as success. Is it that we’ve still got people around who we could have lost to suicide or is it someone who’s never come to you previously and now opened up about what’s going on in their lives? I know that people aren’t always in the right frame of mind to speak during sessions or that’s not when they have an issue but they might remember something from a workshop and come and see you in two or three months and that feels like a win.

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?

I’d say it’s breaking down the barriers to having open conversations. I may need to change the way I work, ask more questions but the key is consistency, if you say you’re going to be somewhere you need to be there and the players must know that there will be total confidentiality.

How would you like to see attitudes change towards mental wellbeing moving forward?

I think young people are more open to talking but it shouldn’t just be a tick box answer ‘yes, good and you?’ when someone asks how you’re doing. I want that to change to ‘I’ve got a bit going on’ or admitting they’re struggling with a certain thing. If we’re not honest, then how can we expect others to be.

I think one area we should do more work is around emotional literacy and understanding how we’re feeling and not fear that. We hear the words ‘anxiety’ or ‘depression’ and go down the clinical route but it could just be a feeling of lowness or being angry at a moment in time and we just need to take time to really understand what the root cause of that emotion is.

What is the best piece of career advice you’ve received?

Figure out what you want to do whilst playing. Don’t be scared to say you didn’t like something but also don’t assume you won’t like it without trying it first. I looked into lots of different career options whilst I was playing so by the end I knew the two or three things that I did like. It’s better trying these things when you’ve got time, you may waste a couple of months but better then rather than post career when you need to earn and family are relying on you and it’s really stressful to find something else if you’re not feeling fulfilled.

How do you switch off outside sport?

I love cold water therapy, I have a barrel in the back garden and go in the sea a couple of times a week. I also have twin daughters who really don’t care about what I do so those things really help me switch off. Being outdoors helps us all.