Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Raith Rovers’ Robbie Thomson opens up on ‘eye-opening’ mental health work with Chris Mitchell Foundation

Raith Rovers goalkeeper Robbie Thomson.
Raith Rovers goalkeeper Robbie Thomson.

Mental health awareness is something Raith Rovers goalkeeper and coach Robbie Thomson “has always been aware of”.

The 29-year-old got involved “off his own back” last year with the Chris Mitchell Foundation.

The charity was set up by the family of the late footballer after he took his own life with a view to raising awareness of mental health and well-being.

Even away from that particular subject he is a big believer in sport psychology and the “need to train your mind as much as you train your body”.

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week and Courier Sport spoke to Thomson about the work he does in this area.

‘Alarming’

In conjunction with the SPFL Trust, the CM Foundation last year began to run courses so that more people could spot early signs and offer support.

Thomson got himself involved after a friend recommended it to him.

“It’s alarming when you go through the process, it’s so eye-opening,” he said.

“You can spot the signs, and I like to think it has given me a helping hand in a few scenarios.

“It was a couple of years back, quite recently after I joined Raith Rovers.

“I don’t want to say good – because it was a bit sad at times but it was really beneficial and really eye-opening.”

Less stigma now

Thomson is the owner and runs the Pro Performance Goalkeeping Academy and its coaches have all completed the course.

Recent years have brought with them vast improvements in awareness.

More and more employers, friends and family members are now much more likely to respond to mental health concerns with compassion.

“I think the stigma around mental health is starting to dwindle a little bit more,” added Thomson.

“I like to think now that there are a lot more support mechanisms out there for people that need the help.

“There are a lot more equipped and there is a lot more awareness around the subject. People know where to go now.

“Especially in football, there’s a lot of people that are willing to help you, if you get it out there.

“There are a lot of channels that people can use to get the help that they need.”

Conversation