Mental Health and Elite Athletes

Hoare E, Olive L, McGinty-Minister K, McMurty C, Walton CC, Hall K, Reardon CL, Purcell R, Berk M (2025). Neurodiversity and the mental health and wellbeing of elite athletes. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 59 (16), 1116-1117.

Pilkington V, Walton CC, Gwyther K, Butterworth M, Rice S, Purcell R (2025). Mental health service provision in elite sport: An evaluation of the Australian Institute of Sport Mental Health Referral Network. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. In Press

Walton CC, Reardon CL, Olive L, Purcell R, Rice S (2023). Anxiety Disorders. In I Nixdorf, J Beckmann, T MacIntyre and R Nixdorf (Eds.) Routledge Handbook of Mental Health in Elite Sport. Routledge

Olive LS, Rice SM, Gao CX, Pilkington V, Walton CC, Butterworth M, Abbott L, Cross G, Clements M, Purcell R (2022). Risk and protective factors for mental ill-health in elite para- and non-para athletes. Frontiers in Psychology. 13, 939087

Purcell R, Pilkington V, Carberry S, Reid D, Gwyther K, Hall K, Deacon A, Menon R,  Walton CC, Rice S (2022). An evidence-informed framework to promote mental wellbeing in sport. Frontiers in Psychology, 13: 780359.

Walton CC & Liknaitzky P (2022). Psychedelic-assisted psychotherapy for elite athletes. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology. 34 (3) 605-623

Gwyther K, Rice S, Purcell R, Pilkington V, Santesteban-Echarri O, Bailey A, Walton CC (2022). Sleep interventions for performance, mood and sleep outcomes in athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 58, 102094.

Rice S, Walton CC, Olive L, Reardon CL, Purcell R, (2022). Scope of the Problem of Mental Health Symptoms and Disorders in Elite Athletes. In C Reardon (Ed.) Mental Health Care for Elite Athletes. Springer Nature

Purcell R, Walton CC, Reardon CL, Rice S, (2022). Anxiety and Related Disorders. In C Reardon (Ed.) Mental Health Care for Elite Athletes. Springer Nature

Rice S, Walton CC, Gwyther K, Purcell R (2021). Mental Health. In R Arnold and D Fletcher (Eds.) Stress, Well-Being, and Performance in Sport. Routledge

Walton CC, Rice S, Gao CX, Butterworth M, Clements M, Purcell R (2021). Gender differences in mental health symptoms and risk factors in Australian elite athletes. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 7(1), e000984.

Bennie A, Walton CC, O’Connor D, Fitzsimons L, Hammond T (2021). Exploring the experiences and well-being of Australian Rio Olympians during the post-Olympic phase: A qualitative study. Frontiers in Psychology. 12, 1964.

Walton CC, Rice S, Gao CX, Butterworth M, Clements M, Purcell R (2021). Gender differences in mental health symptoms and risk factors in Australian elite athletes. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 7(1), e000984.

Mental Health among Community and Youth Athletes

Vella S, Liddelow C, Rice S, Keegan R, Hall K, Jones M, Lubans D, McLeod S, Okely A, Olive L, Purcell R, Reece L, Rosenbaum S, Schweickle M, Singh K, Stewart D, Stimpson L, Sutcliffe J, Teychenne M, Walton CC, Swann, C. (2025). The development of Australian mental health guidelines for community sport. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 59 (9), 659-666.

Walton CC, Purcell R, Henderson JL, Kim J, Kerr G, Frost J, Gwyther K, Pilkington V, Rice SM, Tamminen KA (2024). Mental health among elite youth athletes: A narrative overview to advance research and practice. Sports Health 6(2):166-176.

Pilkington V, Rice S, Olive L, Walton CC, Purcell R (2024). Athlete Mental Health and Wellbeing During the Transition into Elite Sport: Strategies to Prepare the System. Sports Medicine-Open 10, 24.

Marrows M, Grover H, Buckley G, Jeacocke NA, Walton CC (2023). Disordered eating in elite youth athletes: A scoping review of studies published since 2000. JSAMS Plus. 2, 14000

Purcell E, Henderson J, Tamminen KA, Frost J, Gwyther G, Kerr G, Kim J, Pilkington V, Rice SM, Walton CC (2023). Starting young to protect elite athlete mental health. British Journal of Sports Medicine. 57(8), 439-440.

Purcell R, Walton CC, Currie A, Rice S (2023). Young Athletes’ Mental Health and Wellbeing. In I Nixdorf, J Beckmann, T MacIntyre & R Nixdorf (Ed) Routledge Handbook of Mental Health in Elite Sport. Routledge

Walton CC, Carberry S, Milson M, Purcell R, Olive L, Vella S, Rice S (2022). Supporting mental health in youth sport: Introducing a toolkit for coaches, clubs and organisations. International Sport Coaching Journal. 9(2), 263-270

Walton CC, Rice S, Purcell R (2022). Mental Health in Youth Elite Athletes. In C Reardon (Ed.) Mental Health Care for Elite Athletes. Springer Nature

Reardon CL, Gorczynski P, Hainline B, Hitchcock M, Purcell R, Rice S, Walton CC (2021). Anxiety disorders in youth athletes: A clinical review.  Advances in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, 1(1), 149-160.

Walton CC, Rice S, Hutter RI, Currie A, Reardon CL, Purcell R (2021). Mental health in youth athletes: A clinical review.  Advances in Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, 1(1), 119-133.

Walton CC, Purcell R, Rice S (2019). Addressing mental health in elite athletes as a vehicle for early detection and intervention in the general community. Early Intervention in Psychiatry. 13 (6).

Self-Compassion, Mindfulness, and Psychological Safety

Zhang S, Walton CC, Mosewich A (2025). Compassion: A Missing Link in Talent Development. In A Borrie & E Ryall (Eds.) Reimagining Talent Development in Sport: Seeing a Different World.

Walton CC, Kirby JN, McKenzie S, Gao CX, Purcell R, Rice SM, & Osborne MS. (2025). A preliminary investigation into self-compassion and compassion-based intervention for mental health in the performing arts. Frontiers in Psychology, 16:1512114

Walton CC, Purcell R, Pilkington V, Hall K, Kenttä G, Vella S, Rice SM (2023). Psychological safety for mental health in elite sport: A theoretically informed model. Sports Medicine. 54 (3), 557–564.

Walton CC, Osborne M, Gilbert P, Kirby K (2022). Nurturing self-compassionate performers. Australian Psychologist, 57(2), 77-85.

Lewis KJ, Walton CC, Slemp G, Osborne M (2022). Mindfulness and nonattachment-to-self in athletes” Can letting go build wellbeing and self-actualization? Mindfulness, 13, 2738–2750.

Walton CC, Lewis KJ, Kirby J, Purcell R, Rice S, & Osborne M (2022). Self-compassionate motivation and athlete well-being: The critical role of distress tolerance. Journal of Clinical Sport Psychology. 18(1), 131-149

Rice S, Walton CC, Pilkington V, Gwyther K, Olive LS, Lloyd M, ... & Purcell R (2022) Psychological safety in elite sport settings: a psychometric study of the Sport Psychological Safety Inventory. BMJ Open Sport & Exercise Medicine, 8(2), e001251.

Walton CC, Baranoff J, Gilbert P, Kirby J (2020). Self-compassion, social rank, and psychological distress in athletes of varying competitive levels. Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 50, 101733.

Mental Health of Coaches and other Performance Populations

Osborne MS & Walton CC (in press). Mental health and performance anxiety among gifted young musicians. In G. López-Íñiguez & G. E. McPherson (Eds.), Caring for gifted and talented music learners: Perspectives and future possibilities. Oxford University Press.

Frost J, Purcell R, Rice SM, Tamminen K, Gouterbarge V, Adams WM, Walton CC (2025). Mental health literacy in elite-level coaches: Recognition and management of depression and burnout. Journal of Applied Sports Psychology. In Press

Lindsay R, Walton CC, Kittel A, McNeil DG, Larkin P, Spittle M, Cosh SM (2025). The mental health of sporting officials: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sports Medicine, 55, 3059–3091

Frost J, Walton CC, Rice SM, Davey C, Purcell R (2025). Organisational risk factors for depression, anxiety, and alcohol use among elite-level coaches: a cross-sectional study. International Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology. In Press

Ahadi N, Harris E, Walton CC (2025). A qualitative study of body image among competitive women pole dancers. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 80, 102920

Frost J, Walton CC, Donaldson A, Rice SM, Purcell R (2025). Olympic and Paralympic coaches' perceived barriers to mental health help-seeking: A concept mapping study. British Journal of Sports Medicine, 59 (15), 1063-1072

Frost J, Walton CC, Purcell R, Fisher K, Gwyther K, Kocherginsky M, Rice SM (2024). The mental health of elite-level coaches: A systematic scoping review. Sports Medicine-Open 10, 16.

Frost J, Walton CC, Purcell R, Rice S (2023). Supporting the mental health of elite-level coaches through early intervention. Arthroscopy, Sports Medicine, and Rehabilitation. 5(4), 100734.

Pilkington V, Rice S, Walton CC, Gwyther K, Olive L, Butterworth M, Clements M,  Cross G, Purcell R (2022). Prevalence and correlates of mental health symptoms and well-being amongst elite sport coaches and high-performance support staff. Sports Medicine Open, 8(1), 89.

General Sport Psychology

Walton CC, Gwyther K, Gao CX, Purcell R, Rice SM (2022). Evidence of gender imbalance across samples in sport and exercise psychology International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 1-19

Walton CC, Keegan, RJ, Martin M, Hallock H (2018). The potential role for cognitive training in sport: More research needed. Frontiers in Psychology. 9:1121.