The month of February saw the WRPA staff link with the University of South Wales and
Mind in Training to complete a two-day intensive Mental Health First Aid course. The WRPA were
joined by guests from the four professional regions ranging from the medical, physiotherapy,
strength and conditioning team and a current professional player as part of his ongoing engagement with his personal development. The WRPA hosted and completed
this two-day training course to be able to equip those on a face to face basis with our members with the tools and skills to be able to not only identify any concerning signs and symptoms but how to best address and communicate among players surrounding the topics covered. The team worked through scenarios involving depression, anxiety, psychosis, suicide and various other mental health conditions.The course worked through this variety of mental health topics; educating on the signs, symptoms, proactive and reactive management techniques and the ability to signpost to the correct medical practitioner. The transferring of these skills to the professional rugby environment, specifically in Welsh rugby was also explored.
Following this course, the WRPA now plans to work collectively with regional support staff to
implement a process of signposting and effectively ensuring the stigma of mental health is removed and create an environment for players to openly discuss issues surrounding mental health.
The WRPA would like to thank USW and Mind in Training for support of the development of workforce education.
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