Coping 101: Washington Athletics

"One of our team physicians published a study . . . about rates of suicide in student athletes, and it came from a database that was national, not just here at the University of Washington, and looked at a ten year period in what the suicide rate was . . . Not only was suicide the second leading cause of death in student athletes, the rate of suicide . . . doubled from the first ten years to the second ten years." The Unversity of Washington is working hard to provide suicide prevention and mental health training to it's students, because even the physically strong face mental difficulties. UW Athletics partnered with Forefront Suicide Prevention to pioneer one of the first athlete focused suicide prevention training programs in the country. University of Washington football player, Paul Mencke Jr, volleyball players Elise Hani and Katy Wessels, and Director of Psychological studies, Dr. Kelly Schloredt, sat down with us to discuss this important athlete training that takes place off the field. Coping 101 is an award-winning student-led podcast from c89.5, presented in partnership with Seattle Children's, Forefront Suicide Prevention, 4Culture and other community-minded partners, where Seattle area high school students get real about mental health. Through honest conversations with peers, Artists and behavioral health professionals, they break down stigma and share tools for coping with life's challenges — because no matter your age or background, we all struggle sometimes, and there are healthy ways to cope. Get started with more episodes, and find community-centric resources online at c895.org/coping101 Forefront Suicide Prevention: https://intheforefront.org/ Forefront in the Schools: https://intheforefront.org/programs/forefront-in-the-schools/ Forefront on social: https://www.instagram.com/intheforefrontwa/ UW Department of Family Medicine "The Mental Health Game Plan": https://vimeo.com/1072599693 UW Athletics on social: https://www.instagram.com/uwathletics/?hl=en