Students and faculty partner with Sanford Health on mental health program for injured athletes

Students and professors at Concordia are working alongside area health leaders to help reshape how injured athletes are supported, both on and off the field, through the Beyond the Injury initiative. 

The program is led by Dr. Erik Slette, an orthopedic surgeon with Sanford Health and a 2013 Concordia College graduate; Dr. Darcie Sell, licensed psychologist and associate professor of psychology; and Dr. Kelli Gast, associate professor of social work and director of the Master of Social Work program.

Beyond the Injury brings together student-athletes, faculty, and area healthcare professionals to address the mental and emotional challenges that often accompany sports injuries for local athletes and their parents.

In addition to sharing their own experiences with injury, Concordia students have stepped into leadership roles by helping develop curriculum and educational resources for the program’s group sessions.

Students in Sell’s psychology of sport injury class created evidence-based materials designed to support injured athletes, their families, and coaches as they navigate recovery. The resources focus not only on physical rehabilitation, but also on the emotional and psychological impact injuries can have on athletes.

By combining lived experience with research-backed information, students are helping create conversations around injury recovery that are more compassionate, informed, and holistic.

The next Beyond the Injury session will be from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16, at the Fargo Parks Sports Center at the Sanford Sports Complex, 6100 38th St. S. in Fargo. The session will take place in the Alex Sterns Room, with light appetizers provided. Ongoing sessions will be the second Wednesday of the month through the academic year.

The September session, “Athletic Identity and Goal Setting During Injury Recovery,” is free and open to athletes and parents. Gast, who is also a licensed clinician and founder of Elevate, a mental performance consulting practice, will lead the session. Slette, Sell, and Concordia athletes and students will facilitate the discussion.

The event is designed to give athletes a supportive space to talk about the challenges of injury, including questions of identity, goals, and what it means to remain connected to athletics while recovering.

“You don’t have to go through injury alone” is a central message of the initiative.

Beyond the Injury was highlighted by WDAY TV. Watch that story here.