Club's head of mental health & wellbeing resigns

[n1ck]

According to Tom Morris:

"A key football department change at @stkildafc: Dr Ben Robbins, the club’s head of mental health & wellbeing, has resigned.

Nothing official from @essendonfc yet, though they have shown interest in the highly-regarded psychologist. Robbins worked with Brad Scott at North. "

[Otiman]

Touchy subject right now. I'd hate to think he was pushed.

[magnifisaint]

Is this a bad thing?

[Otiman]

We should be taking advantage of having the DFC on site. Possible the role is redundant.

[n1ck]

It might be as simple as he's not "Ross' guy" and we all know how much he wants his own team around him.

[whiskers3614]

Plenty of staff and coach turnover first to me round.

My way or the highway??

[skeptic]

Interesting.

I actually applied for this position but for a different club sometime ago. I didn’t think I’d get it due to some geographic challenges and no major experience in working with professional sporting organisation.

The flip side was that my professional mental health qualification/experience that included direct employment with a number of the organisations that the club was interested working/forming relationships with… IMO made me a very strong candidate.

Was really looking forward to having the opportunity to talk to the club about what their vision/perception for the role was.

Shockingly to me at least… didn’t even get an interview of opportunity to discuss the application. Don’t get me wrong… for such a highly sought out position, I didn’t think I had the specific expertise that they may have been after hence thought it was a long shot at best. But mental health is mental health and I reckon they’d have been hard pressed to have another candidate with the same varied/extensive experience and qualifications.

Made me think that the club had a very specific vision in mind for what they wanted (or perhaps a person) and my gut told me that they were making a mistake in not broadening their horizons a bit. I wondered about potential conflict issues that may arise from when say when what is in an individual’s best interests versus the clubs.

From what I hear… that particular club is having a lot of turmoil behind closed doors and may be suffering from an approach that is strictly in-house and club focused.

I read with interest that this resignation has the title of Dr… which makes me think psychologist (as far as discipline goes) and I wonder if we’ve gone down a similar path in trying to get one person (or small team) to cover the needs of a big, varied group of individuals.

Just to be clear… I have no inside word or direct knowledge of anything with our club or others. These are just my own musings from a distance

[Vortex]

Touchy subject right now. I'd hate to think he was pushed.

Why is it a touchy subject?

[loris]

According to Tom Morris:

"A key football department change at @stkildafc: Dr Ben Robbins, the club’s head of mental health & wellbeing, has resigned.

Nothing official from @essendonfc yet, though they have shown interest in the highly-regarded psychologist. Robbins worked with Brad Scott at North. "

I think he played football for North Melbourne in the early 2000’s & also played for Brisbane, maybe he played with them when Scott was playing.

[older saint]

Not all rainbows and unicorns for those who aren't on the front line as such

[Trev from the Bush]

It might be as simple as he's not "Ross' guy" and we all know how much he wants his own team around him.

Er, no.

Top operator, I'd been told by somebody very close to him quite a while back he was ready to move on.

[SaintWiki]

2 + 2 = Whatever stories that are conjured up by some supporters who are only too eager to harp on about when they only have the absolute minimum of detail.

[Otiman]

Touchy subject right now. I'd hate to think he was pushed.

Why is it a touchy subject?

Only the most high profile mental health event in the league in the last 5 years.

[Vortex]

Touchy subject right now. I'd hate to think he was pushed.

Why is it a touchy subject?

Only the most high profile mental health event in the league in the last 5 years.

Are you referring to Members?

Are you sure you aren't adding 1 + 1 and getting 3 ?

[Otiman]

There's precedence.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/05/01/ ... mance-boss

[Vortex]

There's precedence.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2023/05/01/ ... mance-boss

Still not connecting dots? What's the precedence? Can you be specific?

[therabbitinthehat]

I read with interest that this resignation has the title of Dr… which makes me think psychologist (as far as discipline goes) and I wonder if we’ve gone down a similar path in trying to get one person (or small team) to cover the needs of a big, varied group of individuals.

Just to be clear… I have no inside word or direct knowledge of anything with our club or others. These are just my own musings from a distance

I know someone working for a team (not saints) and from what he's said that the industry average is it's usually a head of dept who sets the overall agenda/goal, with 6-9 psych's working under them in short-medium term contracts (some of them university placement students) and yeah, the main focus is balancing players' non-football lives into doing their best with their football duties which brings up the occasional ethical questions (i.e. missing the birth of a child vs playing a game of football).

I'm sure it's like any corporate in-house psych work where the public PR is to help employees manage stress/anxiety/whatever but the real brief is to get them into the mindset of doing the best for the job.

[TheGreatZacsby]

Touchy subject right now. I'd hate to think he was pushed.

Why is it a touchy subject?

Only the most high profile mental health event in the league in the last 5 years.

Are you referring to Members?

Are you sure you aren't adding 1 + 1 and getting 3 ?

Yeah this was where I was getting to Vortex. I’m thinking this bloke had a bit to do with Members and is now shown the door…

*** Edited by mod
Whether you have an inside source or not it’s still speculative and it’s inappropriate to post information like this, especially given it has not been shared publicly. I also think it opens the door for unwanted attention for the forum in an ethical/legal sense.

[King Max]

Whether the above is true or not, I don’t believe it belongs on a public forum.

[shanegrambeau]

Was it a doctor in the sense of a psychiatrist who writes scripts for meds?

Or was it a psychologist who did a PhD in some disorder or another ? (The skeptic in me - And probably applies that paradigm judiciously! )

Or was it the good club chaplain who says things to mother Mary?

Did the doc work through the Richo/Ratts years?

I wonder as I imagine these players each have their own ‘mental-man/woman’ that they see or speak to..

So I do wonder what the remit of a club mental fix is.

I am guessing that they make the players fill out all sorts of surveys on their mental health and then print statistics and pretty graphs about them.

I imagine it is a person who ‘keeps an eye on things’

(Those surveys are worse than nothing for types like me although I am sure the pros have got it together better)

[Vortex]

I read with interest that this resignation has the title of Dr… which makes me think psychologist (as far as discipline goes) and I wonder if we’ve gone down a similar path in trying to get one person (or small team) to cover the needs of a big, varied group of individuals.

Just to be clear… I have no inside word or direct knowledge of anything with our club or others. These are just my own musings from a distance

I know someone working for a team (not saints) and from what he's said that the industry average is it's usually a head of dept who sets the overall agenda/goal, with 6-9 psych's working under them in short-medium term contracts (some of them university placement students) and yeah, the main focus is balancing players' non-football lives into doing their best with their football duties which brings up the occasional ethical questions (i.e. missing the birth of a child vs playing a game of football).

I'm sure it's like any corporate in-house psych work where the public PR is to help employees manage stress/anxiety/whatever but the real brief is to get them into the mindset of doing the best for the job.

Just taking a step back, do we need to question where we are at as a human in relation to something that is essentially a non survival pursuit and is an activity designed to be something that should be pleasurable. It's really sad when you think about, but impossible to pull back from.

[skeptic]

I read with interest that this resignation has the title of Dr… which makes me think psychologist (as far as discipline goes) and I wonder if we’ve gone down a similar path in trying to get one person (or small team) to cover the needs of a big, varied group of individuals.

Just to be clear… I have no inside word or direct knowledge of anything with our club or others. These are just my own musings from a distance

I know someone working for a team (not saints) and from what he's said that the industry average is it's usually a head of dept who sets the overall agenda/goal, with 6-9 psych's working under them in short-medium term contracts (some of them university placement students) and yeah, the main focus is balancing players' non-football lives into doing their best with their football duties which brings up the occasional ethical questions (i.e. missing the birth of a child vs playing a game of football).

I'm sure it's like any corporate in-house psych work where the public PR is to help employees manage stress/anxiety/whatever but the real brief is to get them into the mindset of doing the best for the job.

Just taking a step back, do we need to question where we are at as a human in relation to something that is essentially a non survival pursuit and is an activity designed to be something that should be pleasurable. It's really sad when you think about, but impossible to pull back from.

If I’ve understood the question correctly…
I think it’s more of a case that real life still gets in the way regardless.

One has to imagine that the people that come through the system are subject to the same level attachment difficulties/dysfunction/trauma/life upheaval as everyone else.
Throw in maturity issues complicated with sudden larger degree of spot light, media attention, pressure both perceived and self-imposed coupled with the realisation that dreams aren’t always what you hoped for…
It’s easy to see where it can break down for many

[Otiman]

I also think there's two sides to it, how can an elite sportsperson get the most out of themselves by creating a positive mental health space.

They say most of the game is between the ears, so you''d want to make sure your brain's got 6 pack abs on it too.

[Vortex]

I read with interest that this resignation has the title of Dr… which makes me think psychologist (as far as discipline goes) and I wonder if we’ve gone down a similar path in trying to get one person (or small team) to cover the needs of a big, varied group of individuals.

Just to be clear… I have no inside word or direct knowledge of anything with our club or others. These are just my own musings from a distance

I know someone working for a team (not saints) and from what he's said that the industry average is it's usually a head of dept who sets the overall agenda/goal, with 6-9 psych's working under them in short-medium term contracts (some of them university placement students) and yeah, the main focus is balancing players' non-football lives into doing their best with their football duties which brings up the occasional ethical questions (i.e. missing the birth of a child vs playing a game of football).

I'm sure it's like any corporate in-house psych work where the public PR is to help employees manage stress/anxiety/whatever but the real brief is to get them into the mindset of doing the best for the job.

Just taking a step back, do we need to question where we are at as a human in relation to something that is essentially a non survival pursuit and is an activity designed to be something that should be pleasurable. It's really sad when you think about, but impossible to pull back from.

If I’ve understood the question correctly…
I think it’s more of a case that real life still gets in the way regardless.

One has to imagine that the people that come through the system are subject to the same level attachment difficulties/dysfunction/trauma/life upheaval as everyone else.
Throw in maturity issues complicated with sudden larger degree of spot light, media attention, pressure both perceived and self-imposed coupled with the realisation that dreams aren’t always what you hoped for…
It’s easy to see where it can break down for many

I think I'm asking the broader philosophical question in relation to much of the modern capitalist life we are born into, even if we want our children to take the simpler life is it really possible, and is the life one choses going to need the support of many other humans such as mental health experts just to get one through to the grave. It wasn't that long ago such support was required to survive life. The obvious solution is to choose a simpler life and be content with less.

[SaintPav]

Interesting.

I actually applied for this position but for a different club sometime ago. I didn’t think I’d get it due to some geographic challenges and no major experience in working with professional sporting organisation.

The flip side was that my professional mental health qualification/experience that included direct employment with a number of the organisations that the club was interested working/forming relationships with… IMO made me a very strong candidate.

Was really looking forward to having the opportunity to talk to the club about what their vision/perception for the role was.

Shockingly to me at least… didn’t even get an interview of opportunity to discuss the application. Don’t get me wrong… for such a highly sought out position, I didn’t think I had the specific expertise that they may have been after hence thought it was a long shot at best. But mental health is mental health and I reckon they’d have been hard pressed to have another candidate with the same varied/extensive experience and qualifications.

Made me think that the club had a very specific vision in mind for what they wanted (or perhaps a person) and my gut told me that they were making a mistake in not broadening their horizons a bit. I wondered about potential conflict issues that may arise from when say when what is in an individual’s best interests versus the clubs.

From what I hear… that particular club is having a lot of turmoil behind closed doors and may be suffering from an approach that is strictly in-house and club focused.

I read with interest that this resignation has the title of Dr… which makes me think psychologist (as far as discipline goes) and I wonder if we’ve gone down a similar path in trying to get one person (or small team) to cover the needs of a big, varied group of individuals.

Just to be clear… I have no inside word or direct knowledge of anything with our club or others. These are just my own musings from a distance

In your application did you outline your experience on SS?

It could have made a difference.