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The important work of the sports psychologists at TSG ResearchLab has been recognised: TSG Hoffenheim have been honoured with second place in the “Award for Mental Health in Competitive Sports” by the Robert Enke Foundation for their “Mentally Healthy Through the Season!” project. This is the second time TSG have been honoured by the Robert Enke Foundation, which has been committed to raising awareness of, researching and treating depression since it was founded in 2010.
The “Mentally healthy through the season?!” project, initiated by former TSG player and now TSG sports psychologist Lina Bürger, aims to promote an open approach to the topic of mental health in order to facilitate the early detection of mental illness and provide support for those affected. Central to the project was a research project that investigated the mental health of TSG players. It is particularly noteworthy that this research project was inspired and initiated by a question from sports psychology practice. The insights gained from the study flowed directly back into practical application: from practice to research – and back again.
In anonymous questionnaires, 205 players reported on the current level of symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders at four points in the 2022/23 season. The results show, among other things, that mental health problems affect all of the club’s teams, that women are more affected than men and that players are particularly mentally stressed in the second half of the season.
The findings will be addressed in workshops for all of the club’s coaching and physiotherapy teams. These people have a direct influence on the players and are closest to them during training. They can therefore make a difference when it comes to recognising and dealing with those affected at an early stage. The self-collected data from their own club and the motto “These are our own players!” helps to make the topic of mental health accessible and establishes a tangible relationship with the scientific findings. The aim of the workshops is to impart knowledge, promote the early recognition of risk factors and symptoms, break down prejudices, encourage an open approach to the topic and jointly develop recommendations for action.
In Lena Steindorf and managing director Jan Spielmann, researchers from the TSG ResearchLab and applied sports psychologists from TSG Hoffenheim – including Lina Bürger, Nicola Kemmerling and Jan Deneke – as well as TSG managing director Jan Mayer are working closely together to efficiently utilise their own scientific findings in psychoeducational workshops at the club.
“Top athletes affected by mental health problems often only seek support late in the course of their illness, which makes their treatment more difficult. We want to raise awareness, remove the taboos and show that affected players are not alone. By dealing openly with mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety disorders in the club, the aim is to make the topic approachable so that those affected are encouraged to turn to people they trust at an early stage,” said Lena Steindorf.
The Robert Enke Foundation sponsorship award was presented at half-time of the Supercup in Leverkusen on 17 August. Two other Bundesliga clubs were honoured for their projects in the “Performance Centres” category: Bayer 04 Leverkusen took first place, while VfB Stuttgart also finished in a tie for second place. The “Olympic Training Centres” category was won by OSP Berlin.
