Kate N Jochimsen, Jeffrey G Caron, Ana-Maria Vranceanu, Jonathan Greenberg,
Correspondence to Dr Kate N Jochimsen; kjochimsen@mgh.harvard.edu

Growing research supports the central role of psychological factors, including anxiety and depression, in recovery from sport-related concussion (SRC).1 Indeed, mental health is among the most robust predictors of concussion outcomes, including SRC.1 This is reflected in the recent Consensus Statement on Concussion in Sport,2 which explicitly recommends consideration of anxiety, depression and psychological response to injury in assessment and treatment, including referrals for psychological evaluation as needed.

However, these recommendations often fail to trickle down to clinical practice. Psychological factors remain under-addressed,3 and programmes specifically addressing psychological factors after SRC (eg, dealing with anxiety, teaching coping skills) remain scarce. In this commentary, we identify four challenges impeding the integration of psychological care into the treatment of SRC, and we propose strategies to ‘tackle’ these challenges.