Clarke Carlisle’s struggle may help others seek treatment – PFA’s Taylor

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2015/feb/05/clarke-carlisle-struggle-treatment-pfa-gordon-taylor

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Gordon Taylor hopes the publicity surrounding Clarke Carlisle’s renewed struggle with depression will persuade similarly troubled footballers to seek help from a counselling network that Carlisle helped establish.

As chief executive of the Professional Footballers’ Association, Taylor worked closely with Carlisle during the former Burnley defender’s time as PFA chairman between 2010-13 and the pair prioritised the mental health of their members.

“Thanks to initiatives Clarke was very involved in we now get around 200 calls a year to our 24-hour helpline,” said Taylor. “It’s good to see some of those people receiving the right treatment and coming out the other side but sometimes the carer needs caring for.

“We’ve got to remember that it can be hard for high-profile people who are seen as having overcome problems in the past to admit that things are slipping, that things aren’t so great anymore. There can be a sense of embarrassment which makes it difficult for them to tell even close family and friends.

“The awful news about Clarke has reminded us that we must make sure we care for the carers. There’s a horrible irony that today we’ve been launching our Time to Talk campaign to encourage our members, past and present, to speak to someone about their problems.”

Carlisle has disclosed that the serious injuries he suffered after being hit by a lorry in December were the result of a suicide attempt.

The 35-year-old had appeared to have surmounted earlier mental health problems and had presented a televised documentary on suicide among footballers.

He has also written the introduction to the wellbeing section on the PFA website and was at the forefront of efforts to put members in touch with a wide network of counsellors, implementing the 24-hour helpline and forging close links with the Sporting Chance clinic.

“Gary Speed’s death [the former Wales manager committed suicide in 2011] changed everything,” said Taylor. “Mental welfare and depression is something we’ve been quite concerned about for a number of years now but Gary Speed made us realise we needed to do more.

“A booklet has gone out to all our members. We have a 24-hour helpline. We also have the Sporting Chance clinic and we support a number of mental health charities. We have approximately 30 trained counsellors available 24 hours to talk to any of our members, past and present.

“We hope that people can see there is a strong support network to help them. But it is only possible to help them when they let people know of the problems.”

Carlisle spent six weeks in hospital after being hit by the lorry near York before Christmas. It later emerged he had been charged with drink-driving two days earlier after plunging into depression following the loss of his role as an ITV pundit.

“We’re very much aware of Clarke’s situation and have been involved in the recuperation process,” said Taylor. “He knows we’re here to help try to get him back on track.”