ABSTRACT
This chapter describes the state of readily available mental-health resources for college and professional football, and details the most common clinical concerns and their prevention and treatment. Football is America's most popular sport at all competitive levels. Fan and media interest, especially for college and professional football, are at an all-time high and participation rates at the high-school level have been on the rise since the late 1990s. Since football is the ultimate collision sport in the United States, psychiatric and psychological services must necessarily address its high injury rates and the inevitable roster turnover that follows. For the most part, football players at collegiate and professional levels struggle with the same problems and mental/substance use disorders as age-matched men in the general population. Football players have many potential barriers to accessing mental-health services, ranging from lack of knowledge and experience with mental-health providers to inadequate access and stigma.
